Chronicles of Le Monde
by Dusk-03
Summary: After Gennai sends Taichi to check out an possible threat to the Digital World, he finds himself in a world different then his own. Now he must survive the final year at St.Germain Academy, school for children of nobles, as Taichi de Basse Normandie.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Saint Germain Academy**

He was bored, it had been three days since the start of his journey. It would be another hour or so by his calculations before they would arrive. It would be yet another ten months of boredom that he would need to survive. At least it would be his final year at the school, after he would be able to finally have free time to explore possible ways of getting home.

He was not of this world, he was twenty first century boy, but for the last three years he had found himself stuck in another world. It was little over three years ago that he had been sent by Gennai to investigate an unknown anomaly. At first he and Agumon did not find anything strange, but soon a storm came upon them and the next thing they knew, they were in a place called Regions de France Unis Royal, more commonly called Royal.

"Big brother, please look more interested when we arrive in Champagne," the girl who sat across from him in the carriage politely asked. She was Hikari de Basse Normandie, better known as his sister, or at least a look a like of his real sister back in Odaiba.

When he first came upon this world he had found himself in a region called Basse Normandie, owned by a family with the very same name. He was escorted into the family mansion where upon he explained his situation, only to find that the family was a carbon copy of his own family. He learned that they also had a son, whom had died at a young age of an illness.

And here he was now, adopted as Taichi de Basse Normandie. He was currently heading to the southern regions of Royal to attend to the last year of his schooling required by all noble families in Royal. This would also be his sisters first year at the school.

"Sorry little sis, but school's boring," he replied in his usual flare. Around his sister he acted very much as he would back in his world, but he learned from his three years in Royal that he could not be the same Taichi as Taichi Yagami, no he was Taichi de Basse Normandie.

He was not the same leader loved by everyone when he was home. No, in this world and especially in school he was treated as the lowest of lows. Other noble children often referred to him as the "zero", not because of his grades, he was actually one of the better students, but his noble standing.

The Basse Normandie, he had learned, where a much poorer house compared to the other houses. They were thought to be descendants who once came from the Empire of Britain, a country whom lately has not been on good terms of Royal. However, he was lower on the schools hierarchy because of his Digimon.

He learned in this world Digimon somehow existed without the existence of the Digital World or rather this point in history, electronics did not exist. He sometimes wished he had listened to Koushiro when they were studying for european history or when Mimi would rant about how romantic the Victorian period was. Digimon in this world existed or rather existed only to those who were luck enough to be born a noble. By heaven's decree, nobles who have higher levels of Digimon had a higher standing within the Royal court. Those who have rookie Digimon, such as himself were of the lowest noble houses, and those with ultimates were the highest. Of course the king himself, Osamu des Royals Unis, was the only one within the country to actually have a mega level Digimon.

Sometimes he wished he could just show up everyone in this world by making Agumon evolve, but there were limits holding him back. Firstly, he learned that Digimon did not evolve in this world, rather you were born to summon the Digimon once you become of age, a partnership that lasted their entire lives. Secondly, he had smashed his digivice when he and Agumon landed in this world. So for now, he had to bare with everyone at Champagne calling him names.

There was another thing that made Taichi irritable when he was at school, his sister he learned was not the only doppleganger that existed within the world. A number of friends from his own world did also, but they lack the memories of those back in his world and were openly hostile towards him, partially because of his status. His sister on the other hand, may be in the same house as him, but she at least had a champion level Digimon with her. He found it ironic that most of the people he had known from his world would have high level Digimon.

In his first year of schooling, he had met Yamato van Honthorst of Orange, at first Taichi thought that he would easily become friends with all his old friends, but that turned out to be untrue. Yamato had a Waregarurumon, an ultimate level Digimon making him only lower to the King himself. This meant they were in no way to associate themselves with each other, even though Yamato was respectful of Taichi, he did not out right link himself with Taichi.

Another familiar face Taich met during his first years of schooling was Mimi de L'Alsace, she too had an ultimate level Digimon, which again made it less tasteful to be associated with Taichi. On the other hand, she was considered to be the most beautiful of all virgins within the territories of Royal. He had heard whispers that the King was interested in marriage with Mimi, many of the higher noble houses were already pushing their next-in-lines to pursue her as well. If Taichi had been from this world, he gathered that he too would be seeking Mimi's hand in marriage, but he had other matters on his hand. He had spent his every free moment in the schools library searching for clues that would somehow bring him closer to home.

His only real friend in Champagne was Jyou de Lyonais. Although he was a high noble, who too had a ultimate Digimon, his house had lately come under fire for suggesting that Royal was a relic of the past and a free Republic of France Unis was needed to combat modernism. Jyou was also the only one that Taichi feared within this world. Jyou would always question Taichi's knowledge of Digimon without so much as giving a second thought on the subject. Taichi would once in awhile identify some mysterious Digimon no one else could, not even some of the teachers, who would later confirm it after checking the record books. Jyou had always said that he believed Taichi was a bigger threat to Royal than he lead on. However, since his house was under such pressure from the court, no one gave a second thought to what Jyou actually believed. Their relationship was that of mutual respect, as Taichi was the perfect ally for Jyou if the Republic was ever to be established.

As if she was reading his mind, Hikari looked straight into his eyes and said, "I wish you would stop associating yourself with that separatist. Royal needs to be united if the Empire ever attacks and you need to be concentrating on your studies rather than planning treason."

The rest of their journey was quite, their Digimon asleep besides them. The idea of war fought with Digimon was not something Taichi could understand. Sure in the past he fought with Agumon against multiple enemies, but war was something far greater. He had learn from the history classes he was forced to take in Champaigne that war was fought with both by Digimon and humans, again he could not imaging humans harming Digimon at all. If war with the Empire was to take place, he desperately wished it would not happen for another year. That way he would be able to avoid it and continue his search for a way home.

As they approached the school, a large stone sign welcomed them into the courtyard, indicating this was Saint Germain Academy, the school open to the noble houses of Royal. The courtyard was littered with other carriages with other children of noble houses. He was the first to step out of the carriage and then proceeded to help his sister out, she would have trouble with her dress otherwise. Although long dresses were the norm in Royal high society, children of Saint Germain, especially the female population tend to wear shorter skirts in order to move about the massive school more easily. However, they were all required to wear traveling cloaks so that they would stay modest and decent.

Again, these little things had no place in Taichi's mind, he was constantly looking for ways to return home, he could careless about how the girls dressed. However, one girl did catch Taichi's attention. The carriage behind the one that brought him and his sister, carried Lady Mimi de L'Alsace. She exited with all the grace in the world as most of the male population that was currently in the courtyard turned their eyes towards her.

She on the other hand, made her way towards Taichi and Hikari. "Lady Basse Normandie, I hope your trip was pleasant. This is your first year at Saint Germain, I hope that the trip itself has not put you off to this wonderful school of ours."

"Not at all Lady Alsace, please call me Kari," Kari replied with a kind smile.

"Only if you call me Mimi."

Taichi however, took this chance to leave, along with their begs. He knew that nobles loved to chit-chat even though he himself did not care for it. He would leave his sister's begs in her room after which he would make his way to his dorm. Look looked back towards his sister, and for a second he could have sworn he locked eyes with Mimi. His hormones was probably getting the best of him, it had been three years since he last had any thoughts towards romance, but that was only to escape the relationship between Sora and Yamato. Well he guess he did escape, at least in this world, Sora did not exist, or at least she was not living in Royal.

**O O O**

He was an enigma to her, she didn't know why she was so obsessed with him. When they were younger they were told that one day they would marry. One of her favourite memory was when he promised her he would protect her, even if he had to fight the King himself. Then the inevitable happened, he was stricken down with illness, the day she caught word that he died, she cried for a week. So how was it possible that he was alive and well?

She was shocked the first year when he made him known to her. A deadman walking the same halls as her, but she soon discovered he wasn't him. He may look like him and acted like him, but he wasn't the same boy she knew from her childhood.

She had been told not to associate with the Basse Normandie family, but she had to keep an eye on the imposter and she still had a childhood crush on him even if they weren't the. Their marriage was decided when they were young, when his family was still in good standing and trade relations with the Empire still good. However, now her family became wealthy due to her summon of Lilymon, and their marriage cancelled due to his death.

Yet she was intrigued by him still, while she had the King himself seeking her hand in marriage, she was still interest in him. He was possibly the only male in the school that had no interest in her. He simply ignored her, just as the same she would him. Furthermore, he had no ambition. It was common for lower families to gain favor of higher ones, yet he simply did not try. She often found him in the library with his Agumon, she even once heard them discussing ways home. Was he so tortured by this school that he wanted to leave? He gave no intention of it during class and he would often come up with answers half heartily.

"Mimi I think we should make our way down to the dinner hall," it was the voice of the girl who lived next to her, Yolei de Champagne, the granddaughter of the schools Head Master.

"Go on without me, I'll head down a little later," she replied.

She went back to her train of thought, the last three years she had been at this school she had tried to find out who he really was. She even talked to his sister today in order to find any clues, the little Basse Normandie offered little, but she could see a little change when she mentioned her brother.

She was not the only one, she caught little snippets during her time at school. Jyou was also suspicious of Taichi, she had over heard one of his discussions with his fellow separatists. He believed Taichi could be capable then he lead on, he was known as the zero within the school, someone who had no future as a noble, yet his grades contradicted that notion. And that was why she concluded that Jyou wanted Taichi on his side.

She wore a simple dress covered by her school cloak, she left her room still deep in thought. The King had sent ambassadors just last week to her mansion in Strasbourg. Of course her parents had been thrilled that their daughter would be marrying the King, but she on the other hand did not see it the same way.

Since she was young she had always believed it was going to be Taichi, she loved him, but he was dead. She was a hopeless romantic, she loved reading old classics, the likes of"Legend of the Royal Knights" where she always imagined herself to be the princess in need of rescue.

She had for the better part of the week trying to find escape from a loveless marriage. She knew that as a noble, there would be no love, she was a tool, an doll to make her husband look glorified.

She was too deep in thought to notice a figure approaching from the corner. She fell.

"Ouch, sorry about that, I was too busy looking for my partner to notice you," the voice was familiar, the same as the days they had played with each other.

She looked up, it was ironic they had bumped into each other. They rarely even talked with each other within the halls of Saint Germain, so she was surprised he had spoken to her so casually.

"Oh, it's you. I'm very sorry for bumping into you. I hope I've not injured you Lady Alsace. Please forgive my impudence."

With that he started to leave, "Wait Tachi! It's been so long and we haven't spoken to each other for so long!"

"I'm sorry Lady Alsace, but I think you have the wrong person. We've never spoken with each other, and it is best that you stay away from the zero of this school."

He left her standing, without another thought. She felt like crying, she was going to be married soon, but the boy she loved didn't even remember her.

**O O O**

It was midnight, he was sneaking towards the school stables where the larger Digimon were kept. He was already late, this being the first night of school, there was much celebrations which kept him from leaving the dining hall. The party had finally finished and most of the students were off towards their bed.

He on the other hand, had a secret meeting to get to. His informant would meet him by the stables and give him an update on the goings of the Empire.

He saw a student standing by the stable, he approached him. "The dawn is coming," he whispered to the student.

"Freedom and Justice for all," the student replied with the second part of their coded message.

"Is the Empire planning to attack?" he asked his informant in a low whisper.

"The Lords of Manchester and Liverpool have asked the troops to be mobilized. They will land in Normandie within a month, if not sooner. However, the Windsor house is trying to delay any declaration of war, you know how impressionable the young King is to them." the informant whispered back.

"Have our people moved to Normandie, inform King Tottemham that we await their arrival. Also inform him that if war does come upon us, all the male students will leave for battle, Champagne will be open for attack. I hear the Red Devil of Manchester loves his women." Jyou ordered, the coming war would indeed be the first stepping stone in a free France Unis.

As he mad his way back to the dorms, his attention went to the students of this school. If France Unis were to be crated, then the noble families would need to be crushed. Once all able men from this school were called away to war, it would be open for a surprise invasion.

His plan was to make this school the center of operations for the Empire and Unis. Plus he could hold most of the girls here as hostage, the nobles will easily pay any price for their children back. Yes, this was a sound plan.

His only concern was the young Basse Normandie, he would probably not be called to war because of his lack of a high level Digimon. Jyou always had doubts on the nature of the young lord and he did not feel right if he was to stay on school grounds. He over the years tried his best to befriend the boy, but it seemed he also suspected of Jyou himself, no doubt of his recent activities as a separatist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Red Devil**

The Red Devil was not having a good day, the majority of his advisors had overcame his authority when the vote was put forth for the invasion of Royal. He was indifferent to the idea of invasion, but because of the unique structure the government of Manchester, his "advisors" had slighted his hands in the matter. His family may have been the ruling governors for the city, but they were only a face to show unity. The city of Manchester in it's shadows was ran by the eleven noble houses that made up the city. Koushiro's family had been elected recently by the King's court to take over the city as they were the family responsible for liberating it from the previous lord; a tyrant by any other definition, who had tried to go against the young King.

He had just finished an emergency meeting of the King's government. It was put forth by himself to invade Royal after he forced by his advisors. While the majority of governors had agreed, the Windsor family saw otherwise, which he figure was ultimately what was causing his head aches. Again, he did not care for war but he'll have to deal with the constant squabbling of his court and the King's court until the invasion was approved by the King himself.

The King, however was young. Younger than himself actually and younger than the newly appointed governor of Liverpool. And the King was easily influenced, especially by the Windsor house since they were direct family.

"Koushiro!" A voice behind him called. He turned to face the voice and found the figure of the young Lady of Windsor.

"Sora! How are you?" He personally did not hold a grudge towards the Windsor house, unlike the members of his court after the Windsors constantly shot down their ambitions.

"Koushiro is it true that the governors decided to goto war? You know you can't pressure Cody into it, he's much too young. Please he still has his innocence, war will only tear that away!" She was in a franzy, Koushiro knew that the young lady was close to his majesty, acting as an older sister.

"Sora, there's nothing I can do, the governors have tied my hands. Plus, they've already approve the alliance with those French separatist. By the end of autumn, Royal will be part of the Empire." He told her in a firm voice, even with the Windsor's influence, it was inevitable, they were going to war.

"Then promise me! Promise me that Cody will not have to witness the cruelty of these battles!" She was already on the verge of tears.

"I'll try my best Sora, but troops will want moral with their King leading them." With that he walked away from the sobbing girl, there was much to prepare, war was going to he upon them.

**O O O**

War, he was looking forward to it, a chance to finally show up the Red Devil. He always pondered how the scrawny four eyed patron of the Manchester house got that moniker. It certainly didn't reflect in the personality of his fellow lordship but he had better things to do than spend his time researching a nickname.

He was currently on his way from the capital to one of the barracks on the eastern coast. Since the governors have approved for the declaration of war, he had been tasked with commanding the naval fleet and the army that would land in the north coast of Royal. The Red Devil however had been tasked with leading the Empire's Aerial Fleet that would be moving through southern Royal.

He was bitterly disappointed that he was not chosen for the Aerial Fleet as it was the highest honor a lord could have. He couldn't understand why. He had control over the most powerful Digimon in the Empire, yet it was the Admiralty that gave the command of its Aerial Fleet to Koushiro.

Although the Empire did not have the same class structure of Royal, the Aerial Fleet was always given to the strongest of the Lords. Royal was the enemy, yet he wished class would be more like theirs. Instead of the notion that all men are born equal and power was given those who had achieved it. Of course that was a figure of speech, Davis of Liverpool knew better. In truth only the lords were born equal and he had been lucky enough to gain his partner Magnamon, a Digimon even more powerful than the King's Armadillomon.

He was awoken from his thoughts when the carriage lurched to a stop and the door opened by one of the servants, "My lord, welcome to Norwich castle, the imperial High Command is waiting for you inside. The french separatist leader is also here"

Davis quickly made his way to the castle's Great Hall, where he found General Norwich in light conversation with a frenchmen.

"Ah, Lord Liverpool, come come. I would like you to meet Shin de Lyonais." Gesturing to the Frenchmen who let out his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you my lord, I have heard wondrous stories of your exploits for the Empire." Davis notice the smoothness of his language as he shock his hand.

"I hope the journey from Royal was not too much of a burden." replied Davis.

"Nothing is a burden for the freedom of Royal, neh, the freedom of France Unis!" His speech was full of passion, there was no denying that but Davis as an patron of the Empire did not fully trust the men.

"Gentlemen, let us cut the chit chat and get down to business," came Norwich's voice. The three men gathered around the large dinning table, as maps were laid out for them.

"As you can all see, our goal is to attack from two fronts. The navy will transport the amry from the north, while two days later the Aerial Fleet will attack from the south coast." The general pointed towards the map.

"Yes, the Royal court already suspects the Normandie family of help the Empire, there is no doubt they will send the majority of their forces there. They will not be ready for the second invasion. Of course, our Unis forces will be waiting to join the Empire once they set foot on Royal."

"I take it the one month wait will be sufficient for preparations?" Asked Davis.

"Yes, our Aerial Fleet is being outfitted with a new propulsion device brought in from the colonies" Replied General Norwich.

"Then let us hope the Goddess of Victory is with us." Davis stood to leave the room. His anticipation for battle now greater than ever.

**O O O**

"As you can see, those gifted by god's grace are above commoners! Do not listen to Empire propaganda that tells you otherwise. Now as we know, not all men are created equal. Those who lack power are weak, while his Majesty has graced with the greatest of powers! Remember, those who posses rookie Digimon and below are no better than commoners, those who posses champions are rightfully noble and those poses ultimates are to rule our regions!"

He was deathly bored, every year would start off the same message about knowing your place. He never really cared, even though everyone around him saw him as less than human, he knew he wasn't of this world and his only thoughts were on getting back home.

However, the last few days and nights his thoughts were on the beautiful chestnut haired girl currently sitting in front of him. He was confused when two nights ago Mimi de L'Alsace had approached him and spoke to him as if they had known each other their entire life. The past two years that he did spend at this school, he hadn't so much spoken a word to her, aside from the odd greetings to each other from time to time.

He had gone to his sister the day before, remembering that Lady Alsace had spoken to Hikari when they first arrive.

"Oh, the Alsace were once a close friend to our house of Normandie. Actually, the real Taichi was set to marry Mimi but when he died, the marriage was naturally cancelled." He had remembered his sister's doppleganger say.

And now here he was in class unable to concentrate and his eyes constantly wondering to Mimi. Not that istening mattered to him, it was another lesson on the rank of Digimon. He didn't really care since he and the rest of the Digidestined had already gone through much harder life lessons. Anything new he could learn about Digimon would certainly not come from this school.

"I wouldn't keep starring at Lady Alsace if I were you, rumor has it the King has already sent envoys to Alsace Manner." a low whisper came from the seat next over.

"I wasn't staring at her, just caught up in my thoughts Jyou." He replied back in his own whispering voice.

"Just making sure. The King would surely have your head if he knew you were undressing her with your eyes in class of all places." Jyou replied with a grin.

Taichi had almost chocked on his own saliva when he heard what had Jyou said. Sure he was a young men with hormones, but Mimi back in Odaiba was too close of a friend for him to think like that.

For the rest of the class he careful tried to ignore Jyou. He would once again spend his evenings in the library, while Agumon would be with Hikari and Gatomon stuffing himself with food like always. This was going to be one long year.

* * *

Notes: Thanks for all the reviews everyone. I just want to say that I love suggestions but the only problem is that I've actually written the entire fic but I'm doing uploads once a week because, well I want to stay interested when i'm writing the sequel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Matchmaker**

At this point of the supper he was deathly full. Actually he could not remember the last time where he wasn't satisfy with the contents of his stomach. Unlike Taichi, Agumon had no complaints about this world. His alliance was solely with Taichi and as a Digimon he didn't have a home. No his home was with Taichi.

And here he was, ending another night stuffing himself with food the school chefs had cooked. Although he agreed with Taichi when he complained this world lacked democracy, he did like how those nobles and their Digimon ate. So he had no complaints in their current situation. Sure he missed all his friends back in the real world but their doubles in this world made it more bearable. Unlike Taichi who almost didn't want anything to do with them.

The only thing he did miss about Taichi's world and the Digital world was being able to digivolve. In this world, somehow digivolving was an impossible feat. He was stuck with his rookie form. Not that he would complain otherwise, he much rather have the freedom and flexibility to move around rather then be kept in the stables all day with the other heavy-wieghts.

However, he had heard ramblings about a war coming to this country soon. If Taichi were to get into trouble, the lack of being to do anything didn't sit well with him. It was well known to him that Taichi and himself must find a way back to the real world before trouble found them.

Speaking of trouble, he was in a bit of a pickle right now. He had ate too much and when that happens, Hikari would not be pleased. But when nature called, an Agumon's goto do what an Agumon's goto do!

"Eww, Agumon not again!" Hikari and Gatomon yelled when they saw what he had done on the dinning table's bench.

**O O O**

Slow and steadily she was becoming accustomed to her daily routines at . She had just finished breakfast with Agumon and Gatomon by her side. It wasn't unusual for her to have both Digimon by her side, god knows what her brother was up too so early in the morning. She hope that he was not spending his time with that unruly separatist Jyou de Lyonais, she feared that Taichi would get into trouble if continued to be brainwashed by that devil.

Life in was drastically different from her previous school back in Normandie. Gone were the days playing by the fields and river side with the children of the villages and farms, replaced by strict academics and training to become a proper lady. She miss those days, unlike other noble houses, Hikari did not discriminate against the children and towns folk that populated around the Basse Normandie manner.

Unlike her brother, she had become what she heard the student whisper as the elites of . It started when she was first approached by Lady Mimi de L'Alsace and quickly she became friends with her. Although Hikari knew Lady Mimi was only friends with her to get to her brother, she knew from the time they spent as children that Mimi meant well. Being friends with Lady Alsace meant she was soon introduced to her friends, the first of which was Lady Yolei de Champagne, the granddaughter of the schools Headmaster.

And soon, Yolei had introduced Hikari to other nobles that were attending their first year at . Yolei had first introduced her to Takeru van Honthorst, second prince of the Principality of Orange and the Dukedom of West Prussia. It was also his first time away from home, which he had told her was a city called Marseille. Now that she thought about it, in the three weeks that she had been at , Takeru was the one she spent the most time with.

There was another in their little group of first years, Ken des Royals Unis, the Prince of Royal and brother to the King. At first she was overwhelmed with becoming friends with the prince, but she soon found out that he disliked drawing attention to himself. He like her, had a champion level Digimon but for a prince this meant he had no influence. The throne could never allow someone with such a low level Digimon become the next king. Hikari gathered that was why the current King was so interested in getting marry to Mimi. He was desperate for an heir, if anything were to happen to him now, Ken would become King.

"Hikari! Stop daydreaming and wait up!" it was Yolei, she had made her way behind Hikari and was now catching up to her.

"I wasn't daydreaming." Hikari replied without slowing her pace.

"Yeah right, I bet you were dreaming about how Takeru will ask you to accompany him to the King's Birthday Ball." Yolei said with a smirk, there was no doubt in her mind that the young man was smitten with her best friend, even though they had just met three weeks prior.

The King's birthday was only a few days ahead, a national holiday for Royal. This year however, the King had decided to come to their school to hold his birthday ball. No doubt in Hikari's mind to impress Mimi. She was mad that her brother did nothing to stop it. Mimi was his first but he was letting the King step over their true love but then Hikari had to take a step back and remind herself that Taichi wasn't really her brother, this Taichi was from a different world.

"I doubt Takeru will ask someone from a lower house." replied Hikari to Yolei's first question. It was true, although she felt that Takeru and herself had been bonding over the last three weeks, there was no way a prince of a principality would ask herself, a noblewomen of a lower house to the ball.

"Aww Hikari, don't you worry about that, I'll make sure true love conquers all!" replied Yolei emphatically.

**O O O**

"The 13 Colonies of New Britain votes in favour of war." A blonde haired man no older than herself said to the audience before him. Her worst fears were coming true, in the last month she had disillusioned herself that there was no way the governors would vote in favour of war.

"The Colony of South Wales votes in favour of war." This time it was a younger man, she noted that he was not entirely of British origins. It was common for natives of their colonies to marry into British families but it was very much still frowned upon.

"The Manchester House votes in favour of war." This time it was Koushiro himself. She had hoped at least he would not agree to war. By now there was no chance that war would not be declared, she started to pray, pray for all the lives that would be lost in the up coming war.

"The Liverpool House votes in favour of war. May the Goddess of Victory be with us!" As usually the young head of Liverpool was overly dramatic with his antics in court but she always saw a calmness about him, he was over confident.

It was her turn and she made sure that she would stand tall even if the other governors saw her as a pain in their sides, "The Windsor House votes in favour of peace." She said this as a mere whisper but it was loud enough for rest of the court to hear.

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, even though they long knew the Windsor house would not agree to war. She noted that many of the older men were looking at her, trying to measure her for her worth. However, she knew that she had to stand tall, she could not let these men play their little power game.

"The it has been decided," a voice much smaller than hers said, but this voice had power hidden within it, "I, Cody di Tottenham, King of the Eternal Empire of Britain, King of New Britain, King of South Wales, and Emperor of Indos, hereby declare war on the Regions de France Unis Royal!"

The room resonated with the sound of clapping and cheering. She alone was the only one not standing at this moment, she was horrified. She had promised the King's mother on her death bed that she would look after her son, but she felt like she had failed. She failed to protect Cody from losing his innocence.

* * *

Notes: I hadn't realize how short these chapters were. Honestly I wrote the majority of the fic on my iPhone using Evernote and I had intended for people to read these on their phones. Personally I can't read fics on monitors anymore, I have to have my iPhone to do so.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: His Majesty**

The great hall had a warmth like being hugged by his mother, beautiful melodies echoing through out and everywhere he looked, students were enjoying themselves. He however, did not share the blissfulness of the other students. No, he was irritated for being forced to attended such an event. It was not that he was antisocial, rather he wanted to spend any free time he had in the library.

For the first time since he arrived in this world, he had finally found a clue. Being a third year student he had been finally given permission to enter the restricted zone in the library. He had found an old book talking about a legend of sorts, with it ending "a gate to the new world". From his years of being a Digidestined he had learn to pay attention to legends, no matter how crazy the sound.

So here he was, leaning on one of many glass doors leading to the balconies, trying to make sense of the legend. He remembered the book talking about a giant iron dragon controlled by a knight in green. Granted, the book was old and he expected no body else to know of it anyways. Therefore, he would have to spend even more time in the library.

However, that was not the only thing that was irritating him, the sight of his sister dancing with the blond hair boy was sending smoke through his ears and glares from his eyes. Even though they were not the same people he had known from Odaiba, he was still her overprotective brother and he did not like young von Honthorst looking at his sister like that or the way he was holding her. He swore, if the young man had his hand move any lower on Hikari's body, he would march straight up to them and demand they both never see each other again.

His anger subsided when he saw Lady Alsace approach him. He dreaded another encounter with her after what happened more then a month ago. He spied for a way out but found himself cornered by the busy students dancing to the soft music. It was already too late, by the time he looked back at Mimi's direction, she was already upon him.

"Ahhh...Lady Alsace what brings you to my little corner?" He was beyond nervous to think straight. He hate himself for thinking it, but Mimi was looking beautiful tonight in her blue ball gown, enough so that his heart beat increase substantially when his eyes came upon her's.

"You look as though you wanted to kill Takeru for making Hikari happy. I've come to give her some assistance in making sure you don't interfere." She replied with a gentle smile on her soft lips.

"I don't know what you're talking about. And should you not be with the King right now? He's made his way down to our school just to have the honor of dancing with you."

She didn't answer and Taichi could see she was not happy with him mentioning the King. Without warning she quickly grab his hand and dragged him to the center of the room, "Come, I've been waiting for this dance all day."

She made her way to the center of the room and quickly shifted her and Taichi's hand into position. The music started and he quickly took the lead. For once he was thankful to this school and it's requirement for all noble children to learn dance. The music was familiar to him, it was lively unlike the piece played before for it. He remembered the name of the waltz having to do something with bumblebees.

For a minute, the weight of the world seem to lift from his tense body. His mind was on one person and one person only. She was beautiful, her lips so kissable, he wanted her and he wanted her bad. He didn't understand where these feels were coming from, back in the real world he had never given thought to Mimi, his mind was always with Sora. Now that he thought back on it, every memory he had of Mimi was always him acting as the knight in shining armor saving the Princess. He remembered when she held on to him still in pajamas rushing to her parent's rescue and the time he had to save her from her princess self but none of those times did he ever lust for her like he was right now. Sure he had always been attracted to Mimi back in Odaiba, any normal boy would with the way she showed her body.

He had to remind himself that he had more important things to think about then having Lady Alsace for himself and that if he did try anything, it would be a death sentence with the King watching over them.

"Please Taichi." She whispered soft, "Please just this once, let us enjoy each others company."

"Mimi...I" he tried to reply but found his voice was heavy and caught in his throat.

"The King wants us to wed within the year, my freedom is already been sealed. So just this once, I want to enjoy it with the boy I grew up loving." He couldn't say anything. So he held her, she had already let tears escape.

Taichi Yagami knew one thing, from this point on, Mimi was someone he wanted to protect. No, she was someone he needed to protect. Even if he could not have her, like Sora, he promised himself he would always watch over her.

**O O O**

This was a headache, a waste of time, he had much better things to do. There was going to be a war he should be preparing for, preparing the Principality for an Empire invasion. Yet he was stuck in a room with a bunch of screeching girls all vying for his attention. Not that he did not like the attention from the girls, his father was getting on his nerve lately about a possible marriage arrangements with the Haute Normandie house, who's daughter was currently overseeing their plantation in South Wales.

The girl was barely Takeru's age and yet his father wanted him to be married to her. He had hoped to somehow weasel his way out of it and put Takeru in the right situations that it would be Takeru who ultimately marries the young Haute. However, his plans were falling apart seeing that Takeru was currently enjoying himself with the young Basse girl. The Basse and Haute were cousins but the Upper house was in much better standing with the King than the Lower house, whom were already suspected of aiding the Empire. This rumour was a bunch of horse shit in Yamato's mind, anyone in their right mind would have figured out that it was the Lyonais that were aiding the Empire for the coming war.

He heard the girls surrounding him give a loud screech, as if to signal him to the arrival of the King. Since the region of Orange was still independent of direct rule from Royal, Yamato over the years had befriended the young King and his brother through diplomatic envoys.

With a beastly grin the King's eyes met Yamato's in a greeting, "Hello cousin, I see that this ball has already bored you so."

"Of course not your Majesty, I'm honoured you chose our school to hold such a prestiges party. I take it negotiations with the Alsace family has gone well and we shall expect a wedding any days now?"

"Yes, the Alsace has agreed to terms for Lady Mimi's hand in marriage. However, the marriage it seems will not be upon us just yet. My spies in London have warned me the Empire will attack within the week. I've already seen to half of the Grande Army march on to Normandie."

The King did not seem to have any worry in his speech rather Yamato saw his cousin as over confident, "Keep this a secrete, but I plan on having all available and able male students from to lead reinforcements. You as well as the other students will leave in two days time."

"Would that be wise? What if the Empire attacks from the south? will not be protected."

"My spies have informed me that the Empire will concentrate their landing force in the North. Besides, the seas are much too rough for any ships to sail the south coast this time of year, airships included. Cousin, you must stop worrying about such trivial details." The King again flashed his famous confident grin as he replied.

However, that did not unsettle Yamato. Something was telling him the Empire would be smart enough to not have their landing force concentrated on one coastal front. For now, such suspicions were erased from his mind, he knew well enough the Grande Army would be enough to hold any Empire force.

"Come come dear cousin, you must meet this wonderful Lady Champagne my brother seems to be head over heels with." The King was already leading his way through the crowd to where Ken and his own brother were standing, in discussion with their escorts, Lady Champagne and Lady Basse Normandie. For the moment, he would have to forget about the war and enjoy the evening.

**O O O**

"30 to Port!" He ordered to the rest of the commanding officers stationed on the bridge, he was still looking through his telescope trying to navigate the night sea.

"30 to Port!" His first mate replayed his orders for the rest of the ship to hear.

Right now he really wished he had the luxury of the Aerial Fleet, at least Koushiro would not have to deal with the constant movement of the ship like he was experiencing since the Advance Fleet left port. He was given two days before Koushiro would move in with the Aerial Fleet from the south, Davis hoped by then the army would be well on its way to Central and capture it before the Red Devil could. However, he knew his role was not to rush but to stall the Grande Army before they realize the majority of their fleet was coming from the south.

"Are the soldiers ready to land?" He asked his officers.

"Yes Captain, all troops are ready to attack once we make landfall." Replied one of the commanding officers.

He was getting more nervous as the coast seems to appear larger through his telescope. He had been in minor battles before, he had been made famous for his victory over the New Royal, ending with the former Royal region becoming the thirteenth colony renamed to join New Britain. That victory was fairly easy for Davis, with Royal's popularity already falling, all he had to do was walk in and raise the Empire's flag. This battle however, he feared would take much longer and cause him much more headaches.

"Good." He then looked towards the foreign gentlemen to his right, "I hope your army is in position Lord Lyonias."

The plan was land on Normandie with the aid of the separatist army. Once they held enough ground, the King would join them on the fronts. The young King would boost moral once Davis' men had advanced further enough. By Davis' watch, he expected Royal to fall within the week.

"Yes, the Unis forces are stationed to the north, we will corner the Grande Army once the Empire's fleet lands." Davis only nodded, he was young, only sixteen, but he was ready to lead his troops through hell and back. And this was going to be hell.

* * *

Note: I realize how bad my writing is and how bad this fic is. Although I am still proud of the story I'm trying to tell, especially the next fic and the one after that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Decisions**

He was cold, wet, and hungry, but he knew safety was only a few miles away. The King's Birthday Ball provided the perfect distraction for him to slip away without anyone noticing. He was currently making his way to Bordeaux owned by the Aquitiane family, whom were large supporters of the Lyonais. Since he was of noble house, taking a horse or a carriage would draw too much attention to himself. He caught word from his eldest brother Shin that his second brother Shu was being watched by the King's spy. Therefore the only option for him not to be caught was to dredge through the forest of southern Royal.

He was instructed by his brother Shin, to make his way towards Bordeaux and await the arrival of the Red Devil and the Empire's Aerial Fleet. He couldn't wait to see the faces of all the nobles when he arrived with the advance technology and war machine that was the Empire. Of course his brother and the other leaders of Unis had made a deal with the Empire to make sure they would not be controlled by the Empire.

It was simple really, all they had to do was give up some land in the north, allowing the Empire to have an route to make their way to Repubblica d'Italia. Even though the Empire still had a monarchy, it was the best choice for Unis to ally with. Yes, he believed in the notion of a free men and he believed the Empire in time would lose its own monarchy. Unlike Royal, the Empire understood the basic necessity for democracy and it was their duty to teach the barbaric world about it. Once Unis was established it would be the shining example of democracy through out the world.

But Jyou would be lying to himself if he did not admit freedom was not the only thing he was fighting for. No, revenge was on his mind, to see the faces of all those spoiled noble brats in suffer once everything that was given too them being stripped away. He thought he had found alike soul who shared his hatred for for the students of , yet he found Taichi to be different from what he expected. He would often have discussions with Taichi on notions of freedom, Taichi would often agree to many of the things he said, but Taichi showed that he could not be bothered with such a thing as revolution. Taichi, who Jyou found to be a brilliant mind, would rather spend his time in the library searching for who knows what.

He expect Taichi to be the first one in to join Unis, especially since most of the students picked on him for his low level Digimon. But Jyou found that this taunting did not phase Taichi at all, which mystified him. Jyou had tried desperately to convince Taichi to join the freedom movement but Taichi would pretend not to hear him. He was thankful to Taichi for not ratting him out, he did not know what reason Taichi had for keeping his secretes but he was thankful none the less. He hoped that he would see him one day, when this war was over and if neither of them died in battle.

**O O O**

He was a nervous wreck, he was heading to war with his fellow male students but that was not why he was sweating bullets. He had finally convinced himself that there was one thing he needed to do before serving King and Country.

He had only been introduced to her a month ago but he had no doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his peaceful life with her. So here he was, packing all his personal belonging he would need for the march north. Being from a noble house, he was given the privilege of becoming a commanding officer. His official title would Captain Takeru Von Honhorst, leading the Eight Regiment of His Majesty's Grande Army.

Takeru was a simple boy, he didn't need to pack much. A few change of his undershirts and trinkets he kept, uniforms would be provided by the army. He did remember to bring along one important item, his mother's ring, the one last memory of his mother. She had died when Germania raided Orange, that was when his estranged father agreed to join as a region of Royal for protection.

He made his way through the main hall of , his destination was the school's front courtyard where carriages were waiting for students leaving for war.

He found her near the entrance of the school like many of the female population saying good by their friends and lovers alike. He held his mother's ring firmly in his hand, but it did not stop his nervousness.

She was gathered around their friend Lady Yolei de Champagne, who looked distraught. It was no secrete she had feelings for the young prince of Royal, it was understandable that she would have regrets about his departure for war. He knew that the young Ken had been named one of the leading generals of his brother's Grand Army. Takeru also knew that Ken was a genius, with him on Royal's side there was no way they would lose the war.

There was another presence with their usual group, it was Hikari's brother, which made Takeru even more nervous. He had heard from other students that under Taichi's anti-social exterior, he was very protective of his sister. He had heard rumour an older student had asked Taichi to approve of his attempt to court Hikari and was roughly beaten afterwards. In some ways, he was thankful Taichi was there to squash any attempts to court Hikari, but on the other hand he was deathly afraid he would end up the same. Takeru was also thankful that Taichi would be left behind to watch over , the King was suspicious of their house so there was no arguments towards giving a possible trader a regiment to command.

His sweat was rushing down his face at this point and if one was to look at him closely one would notice his skin white as the whitest bed sheet. He was standing beside her now, he swiftly grabbed her left arm, "Hikari could I have a word with you?"

He notice Taichi had raised an eyebrow towards him, but nothing developed. Taichi simply left back towards his dorm room, while Ken and Yolei left the pair along to say their own good byes.

"Takeru? Is there something wrong?" She looked concerned, it was probably his appearance, his nervousness made him look like a sickly boy.

He gripped his mother's ring even tighter within his grasp, he looked straight into her chestnut eyes and summoned all his courage, "Lady Hikari de Basse Normandie, I would like to propose a future union between us once the war ends."

Her face changed from one of concern to one of shock. It was her that looked white as a ghost. He didn't know what to make of her features, he was now afraid she would not agree to the marriage.

"Don't give me an answer now, please think it over. Once the war ends I would like to know." His voice changed from the powerful one he used to ask for her hand to a much softer, kinder voice.

He did not stay long enough for her to reply, he did not want to face reality so soon. For now, he was going to war, he would have to become an emotionless commander instead of his old kinder self.

**O O O**

Word had arrived from Davis that Normandy had been captured without resistance. The Basse Normandie family had elude the Empire's Landing force, probably on their way to hide in Central under the Royal King's protection. However, as easy as the first landing was, advance scouts had brought word to Koushiro of Royal's Grande Army was on the march to meet their own forces.

The Red Devil was currently preparing the Aerial Fleet on one of the islands near the Spanish coast captured years ago when the two country were at war. Supplies were being shipped from the Homeland daily, both sailing ships and aerial ships were packed full of ammunition and food. The ammunition of course were for the gunners of the Aerial Fleet and for those of the army that were going to be transported by the fleet.

Of course, those who were lucky enough to have a Digimon, specifically those who had Digimon capable of flight had no need for such weapons. And another aspect which were to their advantage was guns and other such weapons had no effect on their Digimon, as long as their handlers kept hidden and alive, Digimon were the ultimate weapons.

Koushiro shouldered to think what happened when a Digimon's partner died leaving their Digimon all alone. He had heard tall tails that there was a mountain range in Repubblica d'Italia which housed wild Digimon. This was certainly worth investigating, Koushiro always had an interest with the natural sciences but being installed as a Lord taxed him from doing anything else with his time.

"Lord Manchester, preparations are nearing completion. The Admiralty has requested that we set sail within the hour." The voice startled him and released him from his train of thought

"Good. Make sure everyone boards the right ships." He replied to the boy that was no older then himself. In times of war the Empire often drafted young boys, this particular boy was his First Mate, an orphan by the name of Takato. Koushiro knew nothing much of the boy's history, only that he had no family and hailed from Manchester like himself. Takato was also one of his best riflemen within his personal entourage.

"Yes My Lord!" With that Takato left the control deck of the aircraft to relay Koushiro's orders.

* * *

Notes:

I debated for an entire day whether or not I wanted to rewrite this entire chapter but decided against it. Yes the who Hikari + Takeru thing came from left field but it is ultimately my way of killing off a character. Not kill-kill, more like he pretty much won't have anymore usefulness in this fic. Sorry to all those Takeru fans.

And to all you Takato fans, he will be the main focus in the next fic, but I won't be going around giving away spoilers.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Capture**

The horrible smell of saltpeter surround his entire body, bodies left to rot or be eaten by wild animals lied all round him. The early morning sun still hidden behind rain clouds made the battle field look ominous, as if death was just beyond the horizon. By his own calculations, Yamato guessed it was not a minute after dawn the battle started and not an hour after hundreds of men from both sides were either dead or dying.

Yamato held his pistol tightly and his saber in his other hand tighter. His trusty companion WereGarurumon was not but a few yards ahead of his position disarming and dismembering enemy soldiers. With a swing of his saber, which was more of a decoration to show off his families wealth rather then be a useful weapon, he finished off his latest engagement.

Yamato was unlike other commanding officers of the Grande Army, he did not sit at a camp to only send his men and his Digimon to danger while he was safe. No, Yamato knew that if he did not lead his men would not follow. Plus Yamato knew he was an excellent shot and was well versed in close combat if it ever came to that. He only hoped his brother was not stupid enough to take after him and head into battle himself.

Yamato quickly dropped down and started to reload his pistol when he heard a familiar howl. He turn his head to the direction of his Digimon and that was when he saw them. WereGarurumon was engaged in battle with another Digimon. Not any Digimon, but one clad in golden armor. And not to distant from where the battle was taking place stood Yamato's new target, Davis of Liverpool, the one responsible for this invasion.

Ignoring everything around him, as if only him and his target existed, Yamato readied his pistol was he charged to where Davis stood. Without any warning, Yamato shot his pistol.

**O O O**

This was unlike anything he had ever felt. His lungs were screaming for him to stop, his shoulder burned as if it had been fueled by an endless fire and an endless stream of blood rushed down his right arm. The blood was now steeping into the skin of his left hand as he used it to clutch where he had been shot.

Davis did not know where he was, he had a general idea but he was unfamiliar with the local typography. He knew he was somewhere close to the battle field, but he was trapped in this forest as he tried to elude his captor. He gathered it was now mid-day, probably an hour or two since he was wounded near his shoulder blades. He was tired, running on the last if his energy and probably blood.

He knew that he could not go on much further but he also knew he could not be captured. This war starts and ends with him, if he were to be captured now this war would be lost. He heard the leaves rustle under the weight of his captor's boots, Davis quickly gathered himself and made a run for where he thought safety might be, his pursuer right behind him.

Another shot rang above his head and hit a tree a few yard ahead of him. Davis was desperate to find something that could hide him and he desperately wished he had stayed close to his Digimon. However it was his inexperience and fright of being shot that lead him to flee into the forest.

He knew his pursuer was a commanding officer, who had a Digimon like himself but he had no idea who this noble was. As far as he knew this person was the one who owned the WereGarurumon that was fighting his Magnamon.

At this moment he blamed his own stupidity for allowing himself to be opened to be shot. If he was to be captured then this war would end and his Majesty would also be opened to be captured. His forces were only a few days from Central where they would meet with the Aerial Fleet for the final push. But if the ground forces were not to advance to anywhere near Central, the Aerial Fleet would have a hard time capturing the capital. Furthermore, the King himself was on route now to meet up with Davis and his troops for the final push into the city. As of right now their only chance of winning this war was if the Aerial Fleet was flawless with their victory.

So Davis ran, he could not lose this war, for the freedom of Men and Digimon, Davis could not lose.

He was distracted in this thinking to notice his surroundings, as he fail to note the ground had finally gave away and he was now tumbling down a hill. The last thing he saw before everything went black as an figure hugged by golden light.

**O O O**

He was the only male student left at , he was said to be useless in battle and on suspicion that his family were traitors he had been left behind. Most noble family saw this as an embarrassment but Taichi was not of this world, his only priority was himself and his partner since that fateful day on File Island.

Now if this was the real world, Taichi would have been jumping for joy. What teenage boy wouldn't do for a school full of appealing girls. But once again Taichi found himself remembering that this world was not his and he should refrain from establishing any real relationships as he would just break hearts once he left for home. And the problem of being who he was in this world meant girls simply ignoring him, too embarrassed to be seen anywhere near him.

So here he was sitting where he would normally sit as if war had not called half the school away. The professor droning on about how the Empire's political system was flawed and how Royal had a much better one. If Taichi had not come from his world, a much more free world, he would have believed every word of it. However, that was not the case, Taichi knew better, from what he could tell the Empire greatly resemble countries with monarchies much like Modern Japan where he was from and Royal was imperialist, something Taichi also knew Japan had gone through in it's history.

Before he came to this world, Taichi had fought with himself in what his future occupation would be. He knew he could not play football much longer, he was never a prodigy and there were simply too many more skilled than he was. Sora had once suggest politics since he was a natural born leader but since Japan's political system was flawed where one could only inherited into a political position masked by the task of voting, he soon gave up any hope.

As the professor continue to drone on and on, Taichi's mind once again drifted back to the book he had found a few days ago. He had concluded, with much sleepless nights, that the metal dragon was probably an airplane that, like him accidentally fell to this world. Therefore, the gate he was looking for must exist somewhere in the sky near where the plane had landed. The only problem was that the book gave no indication to where this was or where this legend came from in the first place. Taichi had decided the best clue was to find whoever wrote the book or where the author wrote it. The simple answer was he had to find one Sir Haruhiko of Windsor.

* * *

Notes: Sorry if this chapter seemed short, but I this and the last couple of chapters were written when I had major writer's block. At this point I'm just trying to dredge through the last half of the fic so that I can set up for the sequel. I'm mostly done writing the next fic in the series and moved on to the third one, but I'm knee deep in work and have to get 50 pages of my honours thesis done by the end of the month. I may forget to upload the next chapter next Monday, if that happens, kindly give me a shout in the reviews.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Hero**

The still air of her room was cold, she however was wrapped by her blankets, more comfortable the she had ever been. She was awake but wished she could go back to sleep or remain in her present state all day but she knew she would have to get up soon. She had just awoken from a beautiful dream which she wished was real. She dreamt of having a wonderful family with a loving husband who's hair was wild as a lion, loving children, and a house in the country side where there was no one to bother them for miles around.

She soon returned to reality, a cruel reality nothing like her dream. She fought against her instincts which was telling her to stay in bed and gave into her logical side. She threw aside her warm blankets to fell the cold rush of the morning air surrounding her where he blankets were just moments ago. Considering she was only wearing her undergarments consisting of her corset, she rushed to her dressing table where her cloths had been laid out from the previous night. The school dressing code was simple enough, a white blouse and dark coloured skirt, and of course a traveling cloak to keep their appearance modest.

As she was checking herself in her mirror, she felt oddly strange, something was telling her not to leave her room today. She concluded it must have something to do with the war and that she was just being paranoid. Checking herself one last time, Mimi L'Alsace left her cold room for the dining hall.

As she made her way through the courtyard corridor to get to the Dinning Hall she notice that the birds were not making an sounds and the wind was buzzing even though she did not feel any wind blowing. This was strange to her as this was a beautiful autumn day, just like the day before.

And it was then she noticed them, not a few miles away in the sky, where she expect to see white clouds, she saw what she could only describe as flying boats with large cloths above them. Mimi also noted she was not the only one to see them, by this point most the school population where pointing to them, while others were now rushing out of their rooms and into the courtyard to see what was going on.

Then everything around her exploded into chaos, as shells came flying sent by the ships above them, hitting and destroying the castle walls of the school. Students were now panicking to find shelter, running along the corridors to get back inside to safety.

Within the chaos she fail to notice she had strayed too far into the courtyard when she was avoiding everyone. Then it happened. A loud boom followed by a crack. She then noticed a dozen or more limestone bricks had fallen from the nearest tower and was now falling towards her.

She was too scared to move, her eyes fixated at what was going to fall in her. The lasting she heard before someone tackled her to the ground was her name, followed by a burst of orange light. Then everything was quite, the only noise was her saviors heart beating.

**O O O**

He hadn't felt this power in such a long time. It was like riding a bicycle to him, once he had learned how to use it he's never forgotten. It surged through him, it was warm, it felt as though he was alive, more alive then he had ever been. He remembered the first time he felt such power, he was nervous, he remember Izzy telling him it was the only way. And when he was finally able to use it, he felt like the king of the world.

He had thought he would never feel this power again, after he and Agumon arrived in this world, he had destroyed his Digivice, the only connection he had with this power. He was heart broken to think that he could never use Agumon again to help protect those around him, but he was wrong, his power had returned.

He wanted so much to protect her, but he felt so powerless to do so. And against his better judgement, he rushed to her in order to save her without so much as thinking about what would happen to him. He put himself in danger in order to save her and as if the gods were answering call, he felt it again, he felt his courage return.

Taichi held Mimi closely, she was injured from debris scratching her. Taichi and Wargreymon came in time to save her, Taichi of course rushing towards her to put his body in the way of the falling walls and Wargreymon the one to actually shield them both. That was from what Taichi could recall more than twenty minutes ago, but Taichi still held onto Mimi's body as tight as ever. His full concentration wasn't on the shocked girl, he was directing orders to Wargreymon.

"Wargreymon!" he called with all his strength, "Get those three ships to your left before they fire on the town!"

Wargreymon acknowledged Taichi's new orders with a shake of his head and flew towards to his targets. As far as Taichi could tell these airships that everyone was screaming about this morning were really blimps. Or old sailing ships attached to a blimp ballon, something Taichi found amusing before they started to fire their cannons on the school and the adjacent town.

By this point Taichi figured Wargreymon had been able to destroy two thirds of the invasion fleet, but he knew they were far from the end of the battle. After all, one mega level Digimon against 20 or so ships weren't fair odds. As Wargreymon blazed towards another ship, Taichi recalled the events that lead to this, it definitely wasn't going to be a peaceful morning as he wished it were to be.

_"The answer is still no. Your way too young to even think about marriage." Taichi half heartedly answered his sister as he ate another mouthful of toasted bread and then threw the rest towards Agumon._

_"Mimi's only two years older than I am and she'll be marrying the King, how is it that I'm too young?" Taichi could see her anger increasing. Even though he had no business interfering with his "sister's" affairs, he still had a big brother complex that told him to protect her from any boy._

_"Mimi is marrying the King, something she can do nothing about. You however, will be marrying some boy you just met. No, your not marrying him if I have anything to do with this. You're not going to be marrying anybody anytime soon, end of discussion!" This time he stood up from the table, readying himself to leave, ignoring any response from his sister._

_He took two steps as he made his way towards the entrance of the Dinning Hall when he was interrupted by who he recognized as Miyako hurrying to where Hikari and himself were standing. Yolei he corrected himself, her name was Yolei in this world._

_"Hikari!" Miyako grabbed Hikari, Taichi could tell from the heavy breathing she had ran quite a ways to get here."Come quick! Empire Airships have been spotted, we have to get all the students back down to the basements, its safe there!"_

_Next thing Taichi knew, a huge explosion was heard. He ignored both what his sister and Miyako were saying and quickly rushed towards the source of the sound. Even though most of the students hated Taichi, he still had a hero complex and was compelled to save every single one of them._

_As he made his way towards the courtyards, he heard another explosion. Then he saw it. The explosion had blown away part of the bell tower of the school and was now falling towards someone. And he recognized her, too shock to move. Without thinking he ran as fast as he could towards her, he had to get his body in between her and the falling debris. Agumon was running close behind him._

_He could tell he was already too late, but he didn't care, so he ran as if everything had stop. And then he finally felt it, the familiar feeling for the need to protect those he loved. The power he thought he would never have again. An orange glow enveloped both Taichi and Agumon asd they continue to run towards Mimi._

_"Agumon do it now!" screamed Taichi._

_"Ahh!" Agumon shook his head and came to a stop, "Agumon shinka!" _

_Now the the orange light surrounding Agumon became blinding, something Taichi was bery grateful for. And then he emerged, a figure Taichi had long to see since the day he arrived in this world._

_"Wargreymon!"_

As Taichi recovered from his mini daydream, he noticed that only five ships remain, with the biggest and what he guessed to be the "boss" airship now flying towards them.

He then noticed a large, dark figure standing on the upper deck of the ship, far larger than any human. The figure then lept from the ship and fell through the sky. It was then Taichi saw the figure spread its wings and flew towards them, with wings beating like an insect. As the figure came closer, Taichi from shock recognized it, a Digimon he would never forget. MegaKabuterimon.

"Wargreymon! Incoming!"

**O O O**

This was impossible. Not only was the majority of the Aerial Fleet now destroyed but MegaKabuterimon was losing quite badly against a mysterious Digimon. Since his Digimon had engaged the unknown in a fight, it was able to further destroy two more airships. He didn't know how many of his soldiers were dead, but it was close to the thousands. It seem that destroying his ships was effortless for the mysterious Digimon. His men died from either the impact when the Digimon charged it or they would fall to their deaths. Out of the twenty five airships that he had brought over, only three remained.

He spotted the two Digimon fighting, MegaKabuterimon looked to be in bad shape. Koushiro knew that his Digimon would not last any longer. He knew the battle was lost, he'll have to send word to Davis that the Aerial Fleet would not be able to reinforce the ground troops. His thought was shaken when he heard another explosion, the airship to his right was now in flames, close enough for Koushiro to see countless men falling, some where on fire.

"Lord Manchester!" It was his first mate and his most trusted soldier, the orphan Takato, "MegaKabuterimon has returned and the doctors are attending to him. The mysterious Digimon is flying right towards us!"

"Tell the men to prepare for landing, I'll hold him off until then." Koushiro slowly fingered the hilt of his pistol, he knew that his weapons were no match for a Digimon but it'll be a distraction in order for them to land safely. Yes, Koushiro knew he had lost the battle.

He made his way to the top deck of the ship, one floor above the wheelhouse. As he entered he spot their sister ship and then another explosion. He had never been so frighten in his life, never had he fought such a powerful foe. His nickname was the Red Devil, an honor he had earned after freeing Manchester from it's abusive governors through military force. Yet that seemed like child's play compare to this beast.

Koushiro had yet to identify the Digimon that had destroyed the entire fleet, it was simply too fast for it to be anything but a orange blur. He spotted MegaKabuterimon on the starboard side with doctors attending to his wounds.

"Old friend, I hope you are not too injured." Koushiro proceeded to look his Digimon over, unable to find life threatening wounds.

"Koushiro." MegaKabuterimon called in a low whisper, no doubt he was too injured and too tired from fighting the enemy. "It's a mega level Digimon Koushiro! Wargreymon."

He was beyond shocked to here this. It was impossible. The only one in Royal who had...no would could have a mega level Digimon was the King. The separatist leader, Jyou de Lyonais had confirmed this just this morning. He had been assured the school would offer no resistance, but the proof was evident, Royal had somehow secured themselves another mega level Digimon.

Koushiro swallowed what little silva he had left in his dry mouth and pulled his pistol to a readied position, deep in thought about what was presented to him. Mega level Digimon was rare, reserved for only those born into royalty. He had only heard of four which existed, one from the previous King of the British Empire, Cody di Tottenham's father. The other one where held by the King of Royal and the last two held by warlords in the country of Ming. This was something he could not explain, surely the gods were favoring the enemy.

Koushiro made his way to the opposite side of where MegaKabuterimon sat, he spotted the mega level Digimon charging from underneath the ship's haul. If he didn't act quick, his ship would surely be split in two like the rest of the fleet. He quickly took aim and fired his pistol. Koushiro had successful alter the path of the enemy Digimon, but was now starring at the orange armored Digimon eye to eye.

"Koushiro?"

* * *

Notes: I've been so busy with school work I haven't had anytime to write, that means I've been stuck on chapter 2 of book 3 for the last month. Thank god I have about 20 chapters of buffering zone for just the need. i've been going back to old Michi fics that I use to love, The Captain's Lady and Spawn of the Vampire to name a few...ah the good old days. Does anyone else remember a pirate fic with Mimi and Taichi? I for the life of me can not find it anymore or did it actually exist in the first place?


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: His Majesty's Army**

It had been hours since he saw a ray of sunshine, hours since he had anything to eat or drink, and hours since he had been badly wounded. It was not life threatening but it was't the most comfortable feeling to have. The pain was pulsing from his shoulders, the wound had been cleaned and bandaged but healing would take weeks. He was a bit disoriented, but not enough so that he did not know his current situation.

Davis of Liverpool had gone from a highly respectable officer of His Majesty's Army to a prisoner of war. He was currently being transported to god knows where, probably to one of Royal's many prisons.

He had met the men who captured him. Davis had been brought to a field hospital while he was still in a coma, only to be awaken by his captor, one Yamato van Honthorst. The man had an air of refinement and from what Davis could tell, he was probably higher up on the class system. The young man, probably a few years older than Davis himself was regal when he finally stood.

Before leaving Davis, Yamato had told him reports he had received from the war. Of course this peaked Davis' interest, he had hoped the capital was all but captured by the Aerial Fleet. Instead Davis had learned the entire fleet had been destroyed by a mysterious forces, that of which Yamato did not know. He also learned that the young King of the Empire had safely retreated back to the British Isles with most of his forces. In other words, Davis knew the war had all been lost and he was going to spend the rest of years as a slave.

And now he had come full circle, in a prisoner wagon being transported to a prison. The final thing Davis remembered being told was that his Digimon, Magnamon had also been captured and they would soon be united again. Davis didn't question this at the time, but it served no purpose for the enemy to reunite him with his Digimon. At the moment he had no energy to contemplate it nor enough energy to even move his body. The only thing he could do was close his eyes and hope for the best.

**O O O**

His brothers were captured, himself on the run with no where to turn to. When news came of the Empire's Aerial Fleet had been destroyed, Jyou went into a state of shock. It was impossible in his mind. He didn't stay long enough to hear the details, as far as he was concerned, he had to get to safety. The only support he had left were in Britain, but he had no way of making his way to the island. Well, more like no easy way to get back. He was currently in the south of Royal, near the boarders with Spain, who were not on friendly terms with the Empire either. His only way was to travel by land to South Wales, a colony with both Royal and Empire presence.

For two nations at war when it came to trade, money spoke louder than guns could. The colony was not important as a strategic point but it was accessible by three continents and therefore a major trading hub. Jyou knew he would be able to find safe passage to the Empire's homeland but the problem was getting there.

The land route meant he would have to travel by foot through long stretches of desert and vast jungle. He had his Digimon which would fight off any threat posed by dangerous animals or humans alike.

It would not be an easy journey, as a child of noble status it would be downright impossible. However, Jyou was determined to get revenge on those of and free Royal from it's oppressive governments, no matter how long it took. And it meant the first step was to get to safety and amass a huge army.

**O O O**

The first snowfall of early November was hindering their progress. The large snow storm last night had left a vast amount of fresh snow on the ground, the horses had to work twice as hard to trek through it and more often then not their carriage had become stuck. At the moment he was trying to help the driver and their bodyguards to free their carriage from their latest efforts of moving too quickly.

Taichi looked towards his traveling companions as they were playing along in the snow. Ever since Taichi saved Mimi with the help of Wargreymon, she had refused to leave his side. This, Taichi feared was going to become a problem as Mimi's wedding was surely one of the reasons they were called to the capital, Central.

It was only days ago Taichi had singlehandedly finished the war, it was his guess that the King wanted to marry Mimi as soon as possible. Hence why she was currently traveling with him to Central. He on the other hand had no idea why he was called by the King, probably to ask questions of how Taichi had been able to evolve his Digimon and further, making Agumon go back to his current rookie form.

As he continue to help clear the snow, he was constantly looking over to where Mimi and his sister were playing in the snow. The last few days had been a whirlwind for him, Taichi could say he finally knew what people were going on about in those romantic movies he dread watching whenever Hikari had her girls night.

He wouldn't admit he was in love with the young Lady Alsace, no matter how he was out of breath every time he was near her or how he would always blush at the sight of her. No, he knew he couldn't have her, the King already claimed her to be his and Taichi knew he didn't belong in this world. It was best that after their journey to he began searching for this Lord Windsor, especially now that Agumon could evolve again.

He was quite shocked to find his Digivice all fixed up after the battle Taichi had with Koushiro. What was more shocking though was to find another incarnation of his real world friend in the "Red Devil". Taichi laughed at this when he first heard of the nickname for his doppleganger friend, it totally did not fit with his persona as Koushiro was never a football fan.

Koushiro of Manchester, again Taichi laughed at the irony, had surrendered before Wargreymon would have killed him, something Taichi did not want. He and his men were taken into custody when the King's men had arrives that very night. Taichi hoped that Koushiro would not be executed because he was a high ranking officer. He had tried not to focus on it too much but his mind would wonder back on the subject.

To keep himself distracted he once more looked toward Mimi's direction. They were now making snow angels as progress of freeing their carriage was taking longer then first thought.

His sister had also followed him and Mimi to the capital, stating that their parents were keeping safe from the war and had escaped to one of their houses they used whenever they had business to conduct. Taichi feared she just wanted to see the young prince of Orange.

"My lord." Called one of their bodyguards, "the carriage is ready now."

Taichi snapped out of his thoughts and quickly called Mimi and his sister back into the carriage.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Lady Windsor**

Meetings was something he hated, listening to old nobles drone and drone about the most boring things was something he became accustomed to. However, today was different, an emergency meeting had been called. A threat to the throne had emerged and it was vital that he listened to every suggestion they had.

"Your majesty, I believe it is best that the boy be executed at once."

"No! People are already joining the separatist, we can't afford any more unpopular decisions. If the people hear their hero has been executed they surely will revolt." He replied, this was something that he had thought was impossible. As long as history had been recorded, only the King had a mega level Digimon. If someone else had one, then it was their given right to challenge for the throne. He had to get ride of Taichi de Basse Normandie without upsetting the people.

"Your majesty." this time it was his uncle, King of Orange who stood up, "Might I suggest we promote the young man."

Murmurs were being whispered all throughout the room, most were wondering if the old man was going insane. Osamu too was wondering if his uncle was joking or not.

"Now hear me out gentlemen." His uncle raised his hand to quite everyone before preceding, "We can promote the young men to governor of South Wales. He would be in charge of the transporting our prisoners to the colony and he would no longer be on Royal soil."

Osamu thought hard on this prospect. Indeed by sending the young noble away would cause less headaches and he would be in charge of those higher prisoners from the war. Yes, this was killing two bird with one stone.

"I think my uncle has made a fair point. We shall make the young Normandie the new governor of South Wales and inform him of such when he arrives." Osamu gathered himself and rose from his seat, "Now if you all do not mind, I must go greet our new governor and my wife to be."

**O O O**

Taichi Yagami was simply not having a very good day. After a week of nonstop traveling, delayed by snow, he was now told the King had promoted him to governor of South Wales. He had no idea where South Wales was nor did he have an idea what the job description for governor would be. He was hurriedly packing his bags which he only just unpack the day before.

Taichi was told he would be taking a carriage to a small port town in the Bordeaux region. This did not sit well with Taichi, firstly this meant another week of traveling and secondly it prevented Taichi from going on his quest to find the men who wrote the book about the Iron Dragon. Furthermore he would spend a month or more at sea. Again Taichi had no idea where South Wales was, but a month at sea surely was going to test him.

He had thought about running away, but his doppleganger parents were currently staying in Central and he did not want to cause any trouble for their sake.

He was somewhat melancholy after hearing the news the King had intended to marry Mimi within the week. Just long enough for Taichi to leave the country. Taichi suspected the King knew about Mimi and him, but he had no choice. Yet he was mad that he was not invited for the wedding, even after he had earn the moniker "Hero of " and "Terror of Death".

Taichi didn't know what to feel about his new nickname, he certainly didn't intend to kill all those people. In the Digital World, Digimon simply reverted back to eggs when they were beaten, humans never were bad injured to the point of death. So he was horrified after the bad to learn he killed so many people. He had always hoped to use his powers to protect, not kill. He had promise the battle at was the last time he made that mistake.

Taichi now wearing blue army coat, with a dozen or so medals attached to his left breast signifying his achievements and his rank. Officially he had became Captain Taichi de Basse Normandie of the HMS Temeraire and Governor of French South Wales. He was wearing his navel coat because he had been invited by his parents to attend a dinner with the Honthorst family to celebrate the engagement of his sister and Takeru von Honthorst.

He would of course attend the dinner no matter how much he disliked the idea of his doppleganger sister marrying so young. He would then immediately take a carriage provided by the King to begin his long journey.

**O O O**

She was in deep thought setting beside a small pond in her family's garden. It was quite a large garden, with the family mansion poking out over the many hedges and willow trees. This was the perfect spot to get away from it all, something she desperately needed after what her mother had told her.

It wasn't news of the war that had her concern. Actually that would be a lie, she was very concern for her friend Koushiro, someone who she deeply respected but he was now a prisoner of war, something she could not change. No, what had her worried was something greater.

Her mother had just told her the court had decided she would be used as a bargaining chip against Royal. An official embassy was to be sent to Central head by herself. She was to gain the King's favor at all cost, even if it meant seducing the young man.

This idea made her sick to her stomach but she was willing to do anything to keep this peace. Even though she knew the court would decided to attack Royal again in the near future, she was an idealist and would do anything in her power to spot her own country from doing so. All that matter was that her cousin, the King would be safe and hidden from war.

In some ways she was thankful for this mysterious Frenchmen who had destroyed the entire Aerial Fleet. Without the war coming to an end so fast, she could not think of the dangers Cody would have been in.

She had always asked why she was cursed to be a Windsor, why she was cursed with the task of head of the Windsor house. She hated it, she hated her father for it. He had left everything her and her mother. Her father on the other hand left her mother to raise her by herself, to mold her into a respectable Lady, while he left to chase fairy tales. Yes, when she was young her father told her he was going to travel the world to find a so called Iron Dragons. Last she heard, he was spotted in the town of York, a small port town in the Hurontario colony.

Many people called her father insane, she too was one to believe so. Yet she was his daughter and she had to carry the Windsor name even though he couldn't.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: In His Majesty's Service**

The port was bustling, noises could be heard everywhere. Fisherman unloading their boats, workmen hurriedly bang the hammers on leaking ships, and courtesans preying on men who had been at sea for far too long. Taichi was taking everything in, he felt as though he was in a movie, but this certainly was no movie.

Taichi had just met with the higher officers assigned to his ship and now were in the process of loading supples and trade goods. One of these trade goods, much too the shock of Taichi were prisoners and Digimon. Two of which Taichi was very familiar with. The first was the young man who had fought against Taichi in the battle of , Koushiro of Manchester. The other, which shocked Taichi even more was this world's version of Davis. Again Taichi learn he was also a Lord.

Taichi found it almost ironic that everyone he knew back in the real world was a lord or lady in this world. He wouldn't be shocked if he found Sora to be a Lady of the Empire, same would be said of Cody.

He had decided that, as he was the new governor and the captain of this ship he would try to befriend his old friends. He would be spending the next month with them in his care and they would probably end up working on his new estate in South Wales.

"Captain Normandie!" Taichi looked up from his documents he had set up on a table to see an naval officer salute him. Not having any experience as an sailor or as an officer, Taichi merely looked at the men.

"Captain, everything has been loaded, the prisoners taken to the holding cells and their Digimon to the Stables Deck."

"Good work, we'll head out as soon as the tides permit us." Taichi replied in an awkward voice, he hope he made some sense from lines he had remembered from movies about seafaring.

"There's just one problem sir." Taichi again raised his eyebrows, "A young lady has arrived claiming to be your wife. I was not aware you were married sir."

As the officer finished his sentence, a beautiful hooded brunet appeared onto the open deck of the ship. Immediately Taichi recognized who it was and quickly made his way to her and brought her to his quarters so that they could talk in private.

"What are you doing here?" Taichi exclaimed in a harsh whisper, "Isn't your wedding today!"

"I'm coming with you!" she explained while glaring at Taichi. "The King has no authority in South Wales. I will not marry a man I do not love. I'm coming with you and that's final!"

Fearing that he could no longer talk her out of it, he submitted to her decision.

"As my wife?" He asked.

"Someone has to keep you in line and what would the other sailors think if any woman but the captain's wife were to sleep with him." her soft smile made it very hard for Taichi to argue against her.

He sighed and finally said with a smile, "Welcome aboard Lady Alsace."

* * *

Sorry for the long wait, my mind has been squarely focus on writing 50 pages in the last 2 weeks to complete my thesis essay. I'll have as much time as I want now to write since school is pretty much finished.

Preview: Monde en Guerre Book 2: Tusk War

_As Taichi made his was to the upper decks, he could here a heated argument from voices he knew all to well._

_"Com'on, I'm sure the captain wouldn't mind too much if he shared his lady friend with the rest of us." the voice was confident sounding, it reminded Taichi of himself when he was younger._

_"Not in a life time, I would much sooner sleep with every men on this ship before I even consider you to be viable." the seine voice was female and from those sleepless nights he knew who exactly it was that was arguing with Davis, "plus there are plenty of other girls on this ship that would surely love to sleep with a former Lord of the Empire."_

_"Hmmp, I much rather conquer the captain's whore then sleep with some commoner girl." Davis replied, by this point Taichi had arrived on the upper deck to see the two arguing._

_"What did you just call me!" Taichi could see the anger rising in Mimi, knowing fully well what she was capable of and not wanting to be questioned on why a prisoner of war at died, he quickly came between them._

_"Davis, please refrain from calling my wife names. And Mimi please try not to kill Davis, I don't want to answer a mob of angry girls when they learn their favorite traveling companion has died..." Taichi then looked at Davis and smirked, "by getting feed to the sharks."_

_Davis looked horrified and swallowed his saliva. Taichi knew the boy feared Mimi even more so then he fear Taichi. The best way to stop a raging hormonal boy Taichi had learned, was to let them know the consequences, in this case death._


	11. Book 2 Chapter 1

**Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 1: Green Coats**

Thirty eight. A number he hated, a number which had become a bad omen. The number would other wise be meaningless to any other person. However, Taichi Yagami was no ordinary person. He was the Terror of Death, the new Governor of French South Wales, and finally the captain of the ship he was currently on. Why did the hero of fear thirty eight?

Thirty eight was the number of days he had been at sea, thirty eight was the number of prisoners he had on board, thirty eight was the number of times he had tried to befriend the ship's most notorious prisoners, Koushiro of Manchester and Davis of Liverpool. And finally, thirty eight was the number of sleepless nights he had trying to ward off a very hungry Lady Alsace once they retired to bed.

Now, Taichi was not playing for the other side so to say. No, Taichi indeed wish one of those nights, if not every night, he would just give into his animal instincts. However, the rational part of his mind had always stopped him when he went to far. Sure there were mornings where he would wake up to find them both very comfortable in each other arms with lack of clothing on Mimi's part but they both knew nothing further had developed the night before.

It was a big risk even for him to be seen with her. Taichi thanked the Kamis people did not recognize her has Lady Alsace, the run away bride of His Majesty King Osamu of Royal. Instead, Mimi had convinced everyone she was his wife, a noble women from the country side of Royal who had fallen madly enough with the Governor when they were attending . It wasn't really that far from the truth and no one actively questioned why a low class noble women had an ultimate level Digimon.

Taichi was sure by now, after spending those thirty eight days at sea, he had indeed fallen in love with the young chestnut beauty. At first he was only trying to save her from what she called a loveless marriage but he wondered now if he would ever let her go.

He knew he had to one day. He was not from this world and for the last three years had been trying to find clues as to how to return to his world. He had finally found someone who could answer him and was now on the task of finding the mysterious Lord Windsor. Taichi figured that once they reached South Wales, which Taichi learned was actually this world's version of South Africa, he would ask around to see if anyone knew who this Windsor character was. Taichi knew that as much as wanted, he could not fully love Mimi back and that was what was holding the 'fake' marriage back.

Dressed in his captain's uniform, a simple white shirt covered by his forest green jacket and matching pants with a pair of black boots signifying his rank as the captain of the HMS Temeraire but more specifically green in His Majesty's Grande Army meant that Taichi Yagami was a Digimon Tamer. A rank that was only achievable through being born to a noble family but once again Taichi Yagami was different. He was not born a noble nor born within the country of Royal, rather Taichi Yagami was born in another place, another time. Taichi Yagami was born and raised in a little man made island in the middle of Tokyo Bay called Odaiba. After a series of unfortunate events, Taichi was now sailing the Atlantic Ocean nearing his destination of the South Wales colonies.

As Taichi made his was to the upper decks, he could here a heated argument from voices he knew all to well.

"Com'on, I'm sure the captain wouldn't mind too much if he shared his lady friend with the rest of us decent men." The voice was confident sounding, almost cocky, it reminded Taichi of himself when he was younger.

"Not in a life time, I would much sooner sleep with every men on this ship before I even consider letting you to touch me." The serene voice was female and from those sleepless nights he knew who exactly it was that was arguing with Davis, "Plus there are plenty of other girls on this ship that would surely love to sleep with a former Lord of the Empire."

"Hmmp, I much rather conquer the captain's whore then sleep with some commoner girl." Davis replied, by this point Taichi had arrived on the upper deck to see the two arguing. Mimi, in her ever glowing presence was dressed in a simple pink dress, only one of twenty she had managed to bring along in her quickness to escape Central and get to Taichi's ship before it left port. Davis on the other hand, was simply wearing a dirty, previously white shirt and a pair of black pants. Davis wasn't given much in way of clothing being a prisoner of war but his travelling partner, Koushiro had at least been able to keep his appearance clean.

"What did you just call me!" Taichi could see the anger rising in Mimi, knowing fully well what she was capable of and not wanting to be questioned on why a prisoner of war had been greatly mutilated, he quickly came between them.

"Davis, please refrain from calling my wife names. And Mimi please try not to kill Davis, I don't want to answer a mob of angry girls when they learn their favorite traveling companion has died..." Taichi then looked at Davis and smirked, "by getting feed to the sharks."

Davis looked horrified and gulped. Taichi knew the boy feared Mimi even more so then he fear Taichi. The best way to stop a raging hormonal boy Taichi had learned, was to let them know the consequences, in this case death.

Davis merely glared at Taichi and sulked away back down to the cabins. In an effort to befriend his dopplegang friends he had let them all have free access to the ship without restrictions. Taichi knew they were too afraid to try anything, as Taichi had shown at the battle of he was capable of beating a thousand men. And there really wasn't any weapons on board, only a few pistols and sabers carried on the higher officers and no where to go since they were far at sea. Finally, Taichi knew the best way to have people respect you was for one respect them.

Taichi looked at Mimi, she was still frowning.

"I heard what he called you, don't let it get to you. Your a Lady and he's still young and foolish. I would know, I was exactly like him." he tried to comfort her.

"I don't understand why your nice to them, they tried to take over Royal." She replied, he found that she was now directing her anger at him.

"But they hadn't. I, your amazing husband, stopped them." He grinned and she merely laughed, "Come on, I hear it'll only be two more days until we reach South Wales, I'll take you to the markets the first thing we do."

"I'm expecting you to pampor me and I'm also expecting you to finally give me a wedding ring."

Taichi gulp and replied, "Yes dear."

**O O O**

_November 9th, Year 1758 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_Dear Catherine de Haute Normandie,_

_How are you sister? I've gotten your last letter and you should not worry. Mother and Father were able to escape to Central before the Empire landed and I hear news the war has all but ended. Please do not worry about our safety, I'm much more concern about yours._

_I hear news brought to father about the recent uprising in the north, father said there was unrest amongst the Nijeris. He says they are not happy with the recent prices of ivory and they will soon stop the trade all together. I fear that will lead to more bloodshed and wish you to return to Royal soon._

_Please stay away from the Nijeris, I'm hearing many stories of their magic. It it true they worship their Digimon as spirits of their ancestors? I also hear there are many wild Digimon and the Nijeris have powers to communicate with them. They sound as though they are savages and there is no telling what they will do to you if a beautiful lady were to fall into their hands._

_Before I end my letter, sister I must tell you I have fallen in love. There is no doubt by the time this letter arrives news of the Battle of has reached South Wales. I have fallen for the Hero of , some people I've met in the streets of Central are also calling him the Terror of Death, but it is none other then our cousin Taichi de Basse Normandie._

_Why just the other day I saw him when he came for a short dinner. It was in celebration of Hikari's engagement with Prince Von Honthorst. No, not the handsome Yamato you have eyes for, our dear cousin Hikari is marrying Takeru. But Taichi looked very handsome in his new uniform, he's even been given the Victorie medal._

_Speaking of the homeland, I've also got a glimps of Lady Alsace, she had travelled with Taichi from . You would never guessed, but it seems as though she has ran away. The King thinks the Empire has kidnapped her, but I believe otherwise. She did not look happy to see the King when she arrived and often she looks towards Taichi. I hope she has not run away to him, I will be heart broken if Taichi were to fall in love with anyone but myself._

_I hope you will write back soon, I cannot stand another month without hearing from you. I do wish these airships were faster. I heard the Empire has recently been using steam to power their ships instead of using sails such as the Royal ships._

_With my deepest love,_  
_Your sister, Alice de Haute Normandie._


	12. Book 2 Chapter 2

**Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 2: The Red Devil's Curiosity**

For the first time in his life he was free. Free to do as he like, free to pursue his curiosity of the natural world, no more days of being stuck in an office being told what needed to be done and documents needed to be gone over. Koushiro was finally happy, he almost thanked the man who had defeated him. The same man who had given him freedom to do as he liked on the ship, he had free access to almost any cabin and any where he fancied to go. He had taken this order to heart, spending numerous hours in the ship's small cozy library reading books that peaked his interest.

Koushiro never wanted the title of Manchester, it had been given to him because he was from the only noble family in Manchester that people trusted. It all came from the ordeal which he had suffered through when he was a little child, when citizens of Manchester and its noble families had decided to stage a coup against the old Manchester house. His family somehow was voted into the position of the new Manchester house, of course he had soon learned it only for show and the real power lied with noble houses that controlled the city from its undergrounds. He never really understood why people had given him the name, the Red Devil. He wasn't a warrior like most people though, sure he was excellent at planning and creating strategic tactics but he was never the one who opted to fight hand to hand. Sure MegaKabuterimon was red-ish and the horns were devil like, but that still didn't convince Koushiro. It was simply a name that appeared out of no where and some how stuck with him.

He was currently in the library with Takato, a young orphan boy near the age of Davis who had been with Koushiro since his appoint as Lord Manchester. Now that Koushiro thought about it, Takato was very similar to Davis, even though the two would never admit it, both were very rash, both wore their hearts on their sleeves, but Takato was not nearly as hot headed as Davis.

Koushiro remembered that just yesterday, Davis had entered their cabins in a fury; although the ship was quite large, enough to fit five heavy-weight Digimon, due to the large amount of prisoners and colonialist, Koushiro ended up bunking with three others, two of which were Takato and Davis. Davis had become quite a celebrity on the ship, girls traveling with their parents to the colony were all falling for Davis's flurtious nature. Koushiro laughed at this, he did wish that the young Lord of Liverpool would maybe find himself a young lady he could later settle with. Koushiro knew that there was very little chance they would ever return to the Empire, they had lost their lordship the moment they were captured and they were merely slaves owned by the captain now.

Speaking of the captain, Koushiro was taken back to the personality of the Terror of Death. At first Koushiro expected him to be ruthless similar to how he was when their Digimon had engaged in battle but that was not the case. He was very lax on how he ran the ship and had been trying to befriend Koushiro, although at first Koushiro himself thought the captain was only trying to find secretes about the Empire. The captain also seem apologetic at times about the many soldiers he had killed. Koushiro also noticed how the captain would almost become sick whenever the subject was brought to light as if any thoughts of killing a man made him sick to his stomach.

Koushiro was also very curious as to how the captain had the power to change his Digimon from rookie to mega. He remembered one of their conversations and Taichi had merely looked at him as if it were normal to, as Taichi called it, digivolve their Digimon. Koushiro had more then once seen the captain examining one of his medals, but this medal seemed thicker than most and he could of swore it gave off a orange light. The captain always kept it tied to his belt and Koushiro concluded it had something to do with this process of digivolving.

As if he had read Koushiro's mind, the door to the little nook of a library opened and in popped Taichi.

"Yo, Koushiro! You and Takato hear find anything interesting today?" Koushiro noted the lay backness of the captain, addressing them as if they had known each other their entire life.

"No sir, nothing interesting enough to worn further investigation." Koushiro replied not looking away from his book, too afraid to meet Taichi's eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Taichi and not sir. It'll be awkward since I'm appointing you my second in command when arrive in South Wales." Koushiro was utterly speechless at what he hear.

"Sir! Please do not make a fool out of me. An enemy cannot become your second in command, surely you jest."

"TAI-CHI!" He replied pointing to himself, "Anyways, I'll be the guy in charge at the colony, so who saids I can't make you second in command? If you don't want it, I can always give it to Davis or even Takato here."

Still unsure of what to say, Koushiro kept on looking Taichi blankly. He did not fully trust the new governor but if it meant a moment of freedom, then he would gladly take the post.

"Good, then it's agreed." A smiling Taichi left Koushiro still recovering from the shock.

******O O O**

_December 12th, Year 1758 of our Lord Yggdrasil.  
__Dear Alice de Haute Normandie,_

_Sister I must tell you not to worry for my sake, the Nijeris would never dare to attack. The British have already sent their governor's daughter to deal with the tusk trade. The Empire is quite barbaric themselves to send a lady of virtue to deal with such beasts. However I must say, Ruki is quite the soldier even for a lady. I've met her numerous times when I've been invited to their monthly gatherings. She is truly fearsome, I've seen on many occasions where she would make those who wished to court her regret ever being male. I doubt many of them will ever have heirs._

_Speaking of our cousin Taichi, his ship has been spotted in port and I will likely visit him very shortly. Rumour has been spreading that our dear cousin has already wed but I'm sure you would have mentioned this in your letter. Unless this was too much of a shock to you and you did not want to believe your beloved Taichi has already wed. If you were right in your last letter, I fear it is the run away wife of his Majesty. I would not dare go around a speak of such truths though and I warn you to do the same, the King has little influence in South Wales and if he were to send an entire army to bring back his wife to be, it would surely spark another war with the Empire._

_As to your questions about the Nijeris, from stories I have heard around the plantation, they are a truly fearsome people. It is true they worship their Digimon as spirits of their ancestors. I heard they do not even have a summoning ceremony, rather they harvest eggs of wild and tamed Digimon alike. Sometimes they will even tame wild Digimon and tell them stories of their ancestor's past life, make even wild Digimon think they were once human. It is truly frightening prospect knowing such savages have such power over Digimon. One fantastical tale came from Ruki's father, he's heard stories from Araq traders thay've seen the Nijeris magically transforming their Digimon into ultimate, even mega level Digimon. I do hope these are just fairy tails and I do not believe Nijeris have such power over us civilized people._

_Please wish father and mother a happy Christmas. I hope by the time this letter reaches you, you have all finally returned to Dieppe Manor. I hope to hear from you soon dear sister and please do not linger on our cousin too long, I do not want your heart broken._

_With Love,  
__Catherine de Haute Normandie_


	13. Book 2 Chapter 3

**Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 3: The Manor over the Hill**

The house or rather the mansion was truly beautiful. The morning light shined through the east facing front of the manor as if it were highlighting the grand marble staircase. The multiple pieces of gold trinkets and lamps glistening and the pure white marble floor and walls were blinding. For the first time in his life, Taichi knew what it was like to be the rich and famous he had seen on television.

He had just woken up, this was his first full day as acting governor of South Wales. He had left Mimi still asleep in their bed, he had tried to convince her it wasn't proper for them to sleep together but she argued back that they were already sleeping together when they were on the ship and it would get suspicious if they did not sleep together as husband and wife. Taichi just wished that she wouldn't snuggle up to him so much, he certainly didn't want Mimi to wake up before him and question why all of his blood was "rushing down his body". He blushed at that thought and quickly put it out his head.

As the new governor of French South Wales, he was to hold a dinner and invite all the important patrons of the colony. He found this colony to be strange, while Royal and the Empire were having a war with each other, this city was split right in half for the two feuding countries. What was more strange was that the two sides got along great.

Therefore it was customary for him to invite the Empire's governor as the guest of honor. He had also invited Catherine de Haute Normandie, Hikari had once told him she was their cousin and he had met Catherine's younger sister during Hikari's engagement party. Taichi had already guess, when he met Alice de Haute Normandie, that this Catherine would be the same Catherine he and Takeru had met during their trip to Paris. Oh he wished he could see Takeru's face now.

He entered the kitchen, it was certainly not as grandiose as the rest of the house, it was meant for the maids and servants. Noting that it was probably still too early for anyone to be up, Taichi began searching ingredients to cook a large breakfast for everyone. Years of torture from his mother's attempts at cooking, followed by Hikari's failures, resulted in Taichi Yagami becoming quite good at it.

He certainly missed his family. The dopplegangers made life bearable but nothing would ever replace his real family. Remembering that we has not in a more modern place, cooking would become challenging. Firstly, there was no fridge, he had to actually go into the store house located in the manor's gardens to retrieve what he needed. He found eggs and loads of bread, but no oil to fry the eggs in. Although he soon came upon a large opened barrel labeled lard. He set to work cooking for about 15 people, paying special attention to Mimi's plate.

As he cooked his mind wondered to the progress he was making with Koushiro and Davis. At first he thought by giving them high ranked posts, they would just abuse that power and find a way to run away. However, Koushiro told him that they simply could not run away because they had nothing to go back to. They had both lost their estates in the Empire's homeland, Koushiro explained that it was the law when someone of high rank were to be captured in war. It would prevent them from being used as ransom.

Koushiro was certainly coming around, but Davis on the other hand still for the most part resented him. He had assigned Davis to be head of his guards, which mostly consisted of Davis himself with the help of Magnamon and one or two prisoners who had previously been part of Davis' command during the war. On the other hand, MegaKabuterimon had wanted to start working in the fields as soon as possible, stating that a month at sea had all but restricted him from exercising. The plantation part of the manor would be worked on by the lesser ranked prisoners of war and MegaKabuterimon merely wanted to help them out.

The room was beginning to smell of fried egg and toasted bread, Taichi being the genius that he was had cooked the bread in lard since he could not magically wish for a toaster. Unbeknownst to him, another person had just entered the room. Before he knew what hit him, two arms grabbed him from behind and hugged him tightly. Instead of the smell of eggs and toast, it was replaced with the flowery scent, he swore he could also smell strawberries.

Taichi heard a giggle from the person holding him, "umm, smells good. I didn't know you were such a cook."

"I aim to please, my lady!" He turned around and smirked at her. However, Taichi failed to notice how close they were to each other, he felt her breath on his skin.

"You weren't in bed when I woke up." He felt a giant rush of blood to his face and began to turn red as a tomato.

"I thought I would cook for everyone. I've even made a special plate for you." The next thing Taichi realize was that her mouth was now on top of his. Sure they had kissed before, but those were small and quick usually initiated by Mimi for show when people asked them during their time on the ship. At nights it was merely snugging next to each other, even though it was often Mimi would had decided she would wake up the next morning with a lack of sleepwear. This however, was different. It felt as though he would never want to let go of her but he knew it would end.

"I love you Taichi de Basse Normandie." It was the first time he had heard her say such a thing, he always assumed she only had a schoolyard crush on him. He had to admit, it was becoming more and more difficult for him to ignore his feelings for him, even though he knew he would later break her heart.

As if he had just gave up, he finally replied with a smile, "I love you also, Mimi de L'Alsace."

**O O O**

_November 9th, Year 1758 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_Dear Taichi de Basse Normandie,_

_I hope this reaches you when you have arrived in South Wales. I hope the trip was not too taxing and the prisoners not too harsh. I am writing you this letter from the safety of . Oh dear brother, I wish you would have been able to finished the entire year like everyone else insteaded of having the king steal your future away. just isn't the same without you, the entire school is much more somber now._

_Many of the students who had gone to war have yet to return, many are probably dead. News is spreading fast about your exploits, why just the other day I found a newly published book telling fantastic adventures, I doubt you really saved an Indos princess and found a lost treasure. I do hope you do not follow suit and try to make these rumors true. I do not want to hear that my big brother was the one to destroy the Lighthouse of Alexandria._

_I assume by now you have heard of Mimi's disappearance and I deathly hope you haven't had something to do with it. Cousin Alice thinks that Lady Mimi has ran away and eloped with you but I must warn you against it. The King already fears you and no doubt will find means to get ride of you. If Mimi has indeed ran away to you, he will surely send an entire army after you._

_As for life in , while it is not the same, having Takeru besides me makes it bearable. Yolei tells me to wish you the best of luck on your new position and Ken also thanks you for protecting everyone from the Empire. Between you and me, I believe Ken will propose to Yolei with in the year, now that Takeru spends all our time together, they may also have caught the love bug. Before you decide to send a letter full of profanities, Takeru and I have not yet consummated our engagement, he has been very civil._

_Finally, I know you are in possession of Lord Manchester and Lord Liverpool. Father has gotten word from his trading partners in London that they have already been replaced. I know they will want word from their home, they are after all humans too. Life goes on, outside of it is as if the war did not happen at all, trade has resumed with the Empire. They have even sent an royal envoy to the King to help with trade relations, it seems Yamato will head the talks. Yes, Yamato has also left is keeping the head of the envoy company in his private manor. Takeru says his brother is quit smitten with the young lady the Empire has sent._

_I hope to hear from you before Christmas, it'll be the first not spent with us since you have arrived._

_With Love,_  
_Hikari de Basse Normandie, Future Duchess of West Prussia._

* * *

Notes:  
Although I love the positive reviews and I wouldn't mind getting some negative ones too, and I agree with the negative ones I've gotten so far, I'm not a good writer. In fact, I don't even think I'm a decent writer. I struggle with getting even 1000 words for a chapter and then I see great fics I read that have around 20k per chapter. Heck, the whole reason I wrote this fic in the first place was because I wanted someone, anyone to write a fic along the lines of this one. And if you think you can do a half decent job writing one, please by all means go a head. I would greatly enjoy reading someone else's fic with this idea/plot over writing my own. In other words...anyone want to be a ghost writer? Also, you don't need any permission from my end, just give me a heads up so that I can be the first to get my hands on reading it.


	14. Book 2 Chapter 4

**Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 4: The Ladies Next Door**

Never in a million years did Davis of Liverpool ever imagine himself a slave, never had he ever imagine he would be put to work in the fields. And never had he imagined himself, the one with the most powerful Digimon in all of the Empire to become a prisoner of war.

The only good side of his current predicament was that his owner was not as ruthless as he had been told. When he first woke up in that field hospital he had learned the entire Aerial Fleet was destroyed by one man. He became to fear that man and when he was told he would become that man's prisoner, it was all but a death sentence to him. Yet he was gravely mistaken, Taichi de Basse Normandie was exactly the opposite of what he imagined. Although Davis would never admit it, he was coming to respect the governor, although he would often convince himself it was all a lie to gain his trust.

Davis was utterly shocked when the governor had came to him and offered a position on his staff. He was even more shocked that Koushiro was given the second in command position, meaning Koushiro would become governor of French South Wales if anything were to happen to Taichi. At first Davis thought this was his chance to escape given the freedom but he soon learned from letter sent by Taichi's sister that a new Lord of Liverpool had taken his place. In the end he had no where to go even if he had all the freedom in the world.

His job was a fairly easy one, work from time to time on the fields with the rest of the prisoner slaves and he was tasked with keeping the governors family from harm. In other words, he was in charge of Lady Basse Normandie's safety. Davis knew that it wouldn't be a easy job seeing how he was deathly afraid of the rampaging woman. He could not understand how a respectable lord such as Taichi would marry such a beastly women, although she was one of the more beautiful girls he's ever met; it was probably an arranged marriage.

Davis was currently helping the rest of the servents prepare for the evening party, which he was also to attend. He felt as it would be awkward to be in the same room as Lord Bolton, the current governor of British South Wales. They were equals before but now Davis was merely a vassal of the Basse Normandie house.

Taichi had also insisted, rather forced him to accompany his cousin to the little get together. Davis hoped that Taichi had a good taste in woman and was not trying to actually torture him. Davis was dressed lightly, although it was mid December, it was the start of summer for South Wales.

Dressed in one of his finest shirts, one that he would have wore under his former red army coat. He left the dinning room for the rest of the servants to finish the decorating and joined Taichi and Koushiro by the front door. He was surprise to find that Taichi's definition of a small gathering included a full quartet of strings; leave it to the French to throw a party.

Their first guest had arrived, it was Lord Bolton dressed as Davis would have guess was his old army jacket, very similar to the one Davis himself once had. Bolton was accompanied by his wife, a beautiful women, quite tall Davis thought but she looked very elegant none the less.

"Ah Governor Basse Normandie, welcome to our little peace of paradise. I like you to meet my wife, Lady Rumiko, formally heiress of Glasgow." Taichi shook hands with the man and genteelly kissed the lady's hand. Davis however laughed inwardly as it seemed Taichi had no idea what he was doing or how he was supposed to act.

Then Davis eyes met the next person to enter from the doorway. She was dressed in a pink formal gown with golden leafing all over to accent her breast. It was quite the contrast to Mimi's dress which was a much simpler light blue dress but she looked beautiful none the less. The new girl had her wavy hair held in a ponytail, coming down the back of her hair and resting elegantly down her right shoulder.

"Ah my daughter seems to finally want to join us. Everyone, this is Ruki." Bolton pointed to the girl. Davis noted that she did not look happy to be here.

It looked like Taichi was about to say something but instead was held back by Mimi, "Your daughter is very lovely Lord Bolton. I am sure she would love to wonder the manor while we "old folk" talk about politics."

"Yes, yes. She would be bored if she hears my stories again." He then gestured to the girl as if to run along.

The conversation it seems was then lead by Mimi, Davis guessed Taichi wasn't well versed in conversation and was thankful to Mimi for leading the way. Lord Bolton was also eagerly in conversation with Koushiro, excited to talk to the famous Red Devil no doubt.

"Oi you!" A voice snapped Davis out of his thoughts, he was looking straight at the eyes of the beautiful girl which had been introduced by Bolton as his daughter.

"Uhh...?" Davis was nervous under the girls intense glare.

"Show me where the garden is!" She demanded in a low voice as to not attract any attention to her and Davis.

Davis merely nodded and then lead the way to the manor's garden. He open the final pair of 'French doors' to lead her outside.

"You can leave now servant boy!" She walked passed him and demanded without turning towards him.

"Servant boy?" He cried, "I'll have you know I'm the great Lord Davis of Liverpool!"

She merely burst into tears of laughter and finally turned around.

"A mere child like your self the Lord of Liverpool? You must be joking. And even if you were the lord, your nothing but a servant boy now. So leave or else!" She demanded, Davis became frighten, as frighten as whenever Mimi would demand things of him. So he simply left the girl to his own devices.

As Davis finally made his way back to the main hall, his eyes came upon another stunning girl similar to his own age. This girl was a golden blond, she wore dress, red in color and again adorn by golden leaflets like much like Ruki's dress. Davis had to admit, he had never seen a girl such as her before, he could have swore his heart actually stopped the moment he saw her.

He noticed Tachi walking towards him, the girl followed suit.

"Davis, I would like you to meet my cousin Lady Catherine de Haute Normandie." Taichi gave the girls hands for Davis to hold.

"Would you care for a dance my lady?" He asked with a big grin.

**O O O**

_December 14th, Year 1758 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_To the Empire's High Admiralty General Norwich_

_First I like to congratulate you General Norwich on your recent promotion to the Empire's highest rank. This is a report as requested by your predecessor General Wolfe. At high noon on December the 14th, the France Royal 74-gun ship HMS Temeraire docked at the west port of South Wales colony. Records indicate the ship was carrying 21 colonist, 20 crew, and 38 prisoners of war. Amongst them were the former Lord of Manchester and Lord of Liverpool._

_Last night I was able to formally meet the new Governor, a Captain Taichi de Basse Normandie. From initial reports I have received, the man was described as ruthless and a war monger. However, it seems that our intelligence has been mistaken, the governor is nothing as like what has been described. Firstly, he is no older than 18. He is also quite untrained in basic manners of a Lord, something the french pride themselves in. The Governor was awkward when it came to discussions of politics, rather it was his young wife that lead most of the conversation with the governor looking lost most of the evening._

_His wife on the other hand is quite charming, she has even befriended my wife in a manner of minutes. I have yet to confirm her identity but at this point I can not safely say she is the run away bride of the french king. There were subdued hints that suggested she was Lady Mimi de L'Alsace, however if she is who we think it is, it will be vital that we befriend her and have her join our side if any future battles are to be fought with the french._

_Furthermore, former Lords Manchester and Liverpool both seem to be in perfect health. It seems their capture and transportation to this colony did not affect them too much, only their pride I would say. Governor Basse Normandie has even given Koushiro of Manchester the position of his second in command. This is quite odd as it has never been done before but it seems the Governor trusts the former Lord of Manchester. Again it would be wise to bring these people to our side if we are to ever goto war with Royal again._

_I have yet to hear word from Jyou de Lyonais, the former separatist leader is said to be on his way from the north of the continent by former General Wolfe. It is best that we do not leak out any information of our involvement with the french separatist and continue diplomatic ties for the viable future._

_Sincerely,_  
_Lord Bolton, Governor of South Wales, General of His Majesty's 2nd Colonial Forces_


	15. Book 2 Chapter 5

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 5: The Baker**  


"How dare she dress me up like some whore she can parade around all these perverted men!" He had heard her scream.

It was not that he wanted to spy on the girl, he was actually minding his own business. The governor was having a party, he had been invited but declined the offer because he wanted some free time to enjoy himself. He was taking a stroll in the manor's gardens after an evening of working in the manor's kitchen when all of a sudden he heard a stranger talking to herself.

"Does that women have no self esteem? What does she think I am, her dress-up doll?" Again Takato heard her scream into the night sky. They were far enough into the garden that she could not be heard from inside.

"Stupid little dress! I bet that stupid servant boy was undressing me with his damn perverted eyes, as if I would ever give a lowly servant boy a chance." He could only guess she was talking about Davis, the only one brave enough to flirt so openly with any girl. Again, Takato tried to ignore the girl while trying to be discrete as to not be discovered and as a result becoming the girl's punching bag.

"I bet that women is shopping me off to the highest bidder right as we speak! No wonder she insisted on this dress." he heard her say.

The mysterious girl was now close enough for Takato to get a glimpse of her yet she was too angry to notice him, the dress did make her look stunning he had to admit. To him it looked like she was very angry, no doubt at her mother. He heard her shoes, no doubt an expensive pair of heels, slowly treed on the white gravel making up the many small paths in the garden nearer to him yet.

"Stupid women thinks that a mother can use her daughter as a doll!" She let off on last scream, Takato swallowed and finally found enough courage to reply her.

"I don't think so." He said, she immediately turned to face him, "I think your mother just wants you to look nice, maybe she sees herself in you."

"How dare you spy on me! Are you some pervert trying assault me? I'll have you know I'm the governor's daughter!" She pointed to him with one of her gloved hand and glared, Takato again swallowed. Not having much experience with screaming girls, actually not having any experience with girls in the first place, Takato was at a lost as to how to deal with this situation.

"No mam, I was already in the garden before you came running in. It is not my fault you did not notice me." He replied trying to stay calm.

It looked as though she was about to reply angry as ever, but Takato quickly spoke again, "I don't think you mother is shopping you around, I'm sure she loves you as any mother would. I myself never knew my mother or my father and am quite envious that your mother is proud enough to show everyone how beautiful you are."

She looked ready to explode, Takato could only cringe. However after a few seconds of silence, she merely just walked away from Takato without any other word. Takato figured that he was right and the girl was now having an inner battle with herself.

Not wanting to be in the gardens when or if the girl returned, Takato hurried back to the kitchen. He had become the unofficial baker for the Basse Normandie. He didn't know how it happened but apparently he was a natural baker when one day on their voyage on the HMS Temeraire he was asked to help out the ship cook. He remember that day fondly, the cook was knee deep in cooking the night's meal, a larger than usual fanfare to mark their first fourteen days at sea. The chef had put Takato in charge of the bread for that night. Having never baked before and with the chef so busy, he was given little instruction on what to do. In the end, Takato had to wing it and for some reason or another, the bread after going through its baking process with praised by the chef and the captain himself as the "best bread" they had ever had; he even heard the captain mumble, "damn, not even Pantasia has bread this good."

Having grown up a rough life, surviving the streets of Manchester and now the war, Takato felt as though working in the manor was where he truly belonged. For once in his life time, he wasn't fighting day to day to survive, he was finally happy even if he was still a prisoner of war.

**O O O**

_January 22, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_Dear sister Catherine de Haute Normandie,_

_I am sorry to have not written to you in such a long time. It has been a very busy month. I wished you had been home for Christmas sister, father has bought me a very pretty new necklace. He saids that he will buy you one too once he comes back to South Wales in a month or too. He is very worried that the Nijeris will attack the colony soon. His business partners say that the Nijeris are becoming more restless and have even raided frontier towns and trading posts. I know you said you were not worried but please have some of the servants travel with you at all times._

_You also missed my birthday sister but I know the plantation takes most of your time. I am sad that you missed my fifteenth birthday and my Summoning Ceremony. I was quite nervous but I have fond memories of when you summoned Kiwimon so in the end I was very excited too. You will never guess which Digimon I summoned. I've summoned a Dobermon, it looks to be quite a noble Digimon and the priest even said it was the first of it's kind in Royal._

_I cannot wait to finally start my schooling at in the coming autumn. I know you had wished to attend your first year this year but father says that you are doing a noble job of handling the plantation. He's even said that you would be considered to be a candidate for the King's hand if Lady Alsace is not found by March. Some say that she has died of illness and the King is merely hiding the fact and some are even saying she ran away to the Empire._

_Please write back soon so I have a piece of mind that you are safe._

_Your deeply worried sister,_  
_Alice de Haute Normandie_

* * *

Notes:  
Errors have been fixed, all I can say is that I wrote most of this on my ipod, so...damn you auto correct!


	16. Book 2 Chapter 6

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 6: The Market**

Life as a colonialist had become routine for the Basse Normandie household. It was now February and the weather had finally cool down from the summer heat. It was one of those perfect and lazy days for Taichi. He was doing what he did everyday at this time, reading and writing reports on the ongoings of the colony. Mimi was probably down at in the gardens doing laundry. Taichi had not expected her to chip in with the daily running of the manor but she had forced the servants to teach her how to do the washings because she "did not want to be sitting home all day".

"You need to approve of those new trade prices Governor Bolton has set for the tusk trade." Koushiro said while dropping of another stack of documents. As time had gone on Taichi had slowly became friends with many of the prisoners working on the property.

"Again? It's like he's setting new prices every week." He huffed.

"It can't be helped, the Nijeri are threatening to attack South Wales if the prices are not to their favor." Koushiro replied.

"They wouldn't actually attack would they? The colony is filled with soldiers from both Royal and the Empire, plus other trade nations coming and going from the colony."

"It's hard to say. We have no clue what they are capable of, all our information on the Nijeri are from traders that deal with them." Koushiro replied to Taichi.

"By the way Taichi, your wife wants to go to the market today with you." Koushiro reminded Taichi as he left the room.

Taichi simply sighed, "Get Davis and yourself ready. I'll be down in a few." Koushiro nodded and went to find Davis.

Taichi was dressed in simple clothes, a white shirt and army pants given to him as his captains attire. He did not want to attract too much attention, unlike Mimi who had always gone to the market in one of her best dresses. Although Mimi had bought so many new dresses since their arrival he couldn't tell which ones were her favorite or not. Taichi swore he had yet to see Mimi in the same piece of clothing twice, something she had shared with her Odaiba counterpart.

He found them waiting for him at the front door, Koushiro and Davis very much dressed as he was and Mimi of course had dress in one he had yet to see on her, a product of her many outings. They would often leave their Digimon back at the manor, again it was not gain too much attention to themselves. And plus, Koushiro and Davis were more than enough to deal with anyone who may want to rob them. The market was a gathering place for the filthy rich plantation owners and the filthy poor slaves and street urchins, so there was no telling if they would run in to trouble or not.

Taichi remembered the times before, he would leave Mimi with Koushiro and Davis to watch over while he would hit the taverns not seeking drinks but to find information about the Iron Dragon. Seeing as though the taverns were filled with sailors from the world over, it was the perfect place to gather information. Although currently he had gotten nothing out of the sailors, only to be told that he might do well to talk to sailors and traders from the Kingdom of Ming. The only problem was that none of them were currently docked at the colony.

They made their way to the market by foot, it was not far from their manor, only about a twenty minute walk down a large hill to the center of town.

The market was bustling today, more so then usual. It was probably due to the arrival of reinforcements from the Empire to stop the Nijeris from attacking the colony. He could see that the area nearest to the main ports had a few soldiers walking through them and of course he noted, more then a few courtesans vying for the soldiers' attention.

He had wanted to ditch Mimi to go and talk to these soldiers but she was holding on to his arm tightly and was now dragging him into yet another clothing store. He watched as Mimi begin asking a series off questions to the store keeper, seeing if she could get a better price no doubt.

Tachi continued to look out towards where the soldiers were, desperately wanting to go talk them. In the last few months since his declaration of his love for his 'wife' he had countless nights debating whether or not to pursue a way home. And it always ended up with "I'll wait and see".

He noticed one soldier however, approaching the store. Taichi found this to be a little suspicious as soldiers rarely had a need for a clothing store. Koushiro and Davis had waited outside of the open store, chatting amongst each other. Then Taichi's heart nearly stopped, the approaching soldier had pulled out his pistol and was aiming for Koushiro. Taichi quickly left Mimi's side and rushed towards his two unaware friends.

"For the glory of Manchester!" He heard the man say right before he fired the pistol.

Taichi then felt the most agonizing pain he had ever felt but was glad he had dove towards the unaware Koushiro and taken the shot in place of his most trusted friend from Odaiba.

"Get him!" Was the last words Taichi heard from his friends before everything went black.

**O O O**

_February 14, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_Dear little brother,_

_I am writing this as Sora and I are headed to Venice in light of the new threat posed by Roma. It seems that both the Empire and Royal wishes to aid Venice against the Romans. I do not know when I will return home but I do hope it is in time for your wedding. I hear from father that you are planning it once you and Hikari graduate in less than three years time._

_Sora and I are doing well and before you ask, no I am not in love with her. It is merely that we both want the same thing, peace between our countries. She is a very intelligent women, it is quite a delight to have someone actually appreciate politics as much as I do. She is unlike any of the girls in Royal, for the first time I've have someone to debate with well into the night. It is a shame that such a women has been kept by the Empire all this time._

_I've gone to see our cousin the King before I had left. I fear that he has come down with illness. He lies in bed all day, calling out for Lady Alsace. He has become delusional and the Kingdom will soon be ran by those who will wish to gain power themselves. I hope that Lady Alsace is to be found soon, I have asked Sora if she knew anything but she says she was not aware of any Empire plot to kidnap the queen-to-be._

_Lastly I must implore you to talk to father soon, I know you do not like the man but it is wise to for you to consult in him. If you do not do it for me, then please do it for mother. I know she would have wanted you to get alone with father. I know I promised I would be there every year on Mothers death but I will not make it this year, I have already arranged a large reef of her favorite roses to be delivered._

_I shall write to you once I have arrived in Venice. Take care of Hikari and yourself._

_Love,_  
_Yamato van Honthorst of Orange._

* * *

Notes: If anyone hasn't realized by now, most of the character's last name/nicknames are taken from Football/Soccer teams. You can guess why I made Tottenham the last name for Cody coughCome-on-YOU-Spurscough

It also seems ffnet has decided to ban the word St G-e-r-m-a-i-n, I feel sorry for the supporters of the Paris team.


	17. Book 2 Chapter 7

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 7: The Tears of a Loving Wife**

He owed him his life. Koushiro knew that if Taichi had not stepped in, he would be dead. Koushiro swallowed hard, the mere thought of dying scared him, during the war he had been confident that no one was capable of stopping the Empire's war machines but after Taichi had ripped through the entire Aerial Fleet, he was not so sure anymore.

The shooting gave him nightmares, however he was not the only one affected by the event. Taichi's wife was suffering, she stayed by him and cried every time she had woken up from being too exhausted from crying before. It was an endless cycle, crying, sleeping, waking, and crying until she had no energy left. She would beg him to wake up but Taichi never answered her.

Davis was the hardest hit. It shocked Davis, he told Koushiro how every time he would close his eyes, he would relieve the gun being fired. This was understandable because Davis had too been shot and Koushiro knew Davis was actually reliving his own shooting. What more was that Davis was in shock at the Empire turning against them, and for someone who he did not fully trust had almost given his life to save them.

Koushiro knew the Empire did not betray them, he knew who had sent the men. It was the underworld of the Manchester court that sent the assassin to kill him. He knew now that he had lost holding the title of Lord of Manchester, his enemy no doubt wanted him dead.

The doctor had said Taichi would likely recover, waking up from his coma however could take some time. For now it was his job to keep the manor and the colony running. It was the least he could do for someone who had saved his life.

He had tried to free all of the prisoners working on the plantation, however being soldiers meant they were poor and most likely did not have a home to go back to. They had all told him, "And beg on the streets for food back in the homeland? No thank you Lord Manchester, but getting a bed and food for working sounds better than begging."

Davis too did not leave, he had said he owed the Taichi a life debt for saving both of them. So Davis continued working as look out. He would often have Magnamon fly above the manor to scout any possible danger.

On top of everything, the tusk trade had been grind to a halt and it seemed the Nijeri were getting more and more bold. Just this morning news had arrived the Nijeri had attacked another frontier's town, one that was less than a day's ride from the colony.

Governor Bolton had already sent the British regiment stationed at the colony along with his daughter in charge. Bolton had came and implored him to do the same, hoping their common Empire background would sway Koushiro. Without Taichi's authority there wasn't much he could do, the Royal troops would never listen to someone from the Empire, even if he had been put in charge. Koushiro's only solution was to send the orphan Takato to help out. He knew that Takato was an excellent marksmen and would be valuable to the British.

If needed he had instructed Takato to send for both himself and Davis. There was no doubt that with their Digimon the Nijeris had no chance of winning.

**O O O**

February 14, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil.  
Dear Big Brother,

How are you? I hope you have been eating right, being so far from home must have been a burden for you. Life at has been normal but I wish you and Agumon were still here. It feels lonely even though I have Takeru. Nothing will ever replace you big brother, well maybe another you.

All jokes aside, you have become quite the celebrity at Saint Germain. Everyone wants to know what the real Terror of Death is like. If you ask me they had the better part of two years to know what you were like, they merely want to be friends with a hero. It has become routine for girls to come up to me and ask if you have been courting anyone yet and if you have not, their fathers had approve of you courting them in return. Takeru laughs but I think it would be wise for you to start thinking about continuing the Basse Normandie house. I know you would want to find a way to your home but you will always have a home with us.

On a final note, Takeru and I have heard rumblings that Yamato will be sent to Venice. It seems that the Romans are planning a war with the north. The Empire also wants to side with Italia and have sent Lady Sora of Windsor with Yamato, Takeru however believes his brother is madly in love with the lady. Since Alexandria is on the same continent as South Wales, you may have heard news of Roman activity. In any case, please be aware that there are other dangers in this world and I wish for you to stay clear.

With all my love,  
Hikari de Basse Normandie.

* * *

Notes:  
Sorry for the shortness and the long time it took to update but I've been overly busy the last month. I can say this though, the next chapter is one of my favorites, in fact without giving away too much, I actually hope someone can use it for a story in it itself.

The next three books have been finally planned, well the basics of the plot is planned. Book 4 will be less based on Digimon and more based on airships and what not, blame it me getting a new Gundam model for my birthday but I love reading up sci-fi tech specs. Also, I might have to change the rating of this fic when the time comes, as book 3 will have some...unsavoury situations.


	18. Book 2 Chapter 8

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 8: The First Date**

He was extremely nervous, he felt as though every eye was on him as bystanders passed by going about their daily tasks. He was nervous because this was going to be their first official date. Of course, they had gone out with each other befor but simply as friends. This time however was a chance to go further with each other in their relationship.

He noted the many couples that surround him, not surprising as they had agreed to meet at the Hachiko statue. She had wanted to go shopping, something he had feared she would want for their first date but she simple replied she wanted to go bathing suit shopping with her boyfriend seeing as summer as right around the corner. They agreed on Shibuya for her shopping spree and it was the middle of where their homes were from each other.

She had finally returned to Tokyo after years of living in the US, she had beg her parents to return because she was home sick. Her parents had allowed her to buy her very own apartment, however the prices in Odaiba was much too expensive for single student. She still had enrolled in his school though but he could tell she did not enjoy her daily commute very much.

They would often have lunch together, actually it was more like everyday since she had started going to his school. They were often join by the other Digidestined their age, but more often than not they would be along together. Sora and Matt alway found excuses so that they could be alone and Izzy was always busy with the his club.

At first his non-digidestined friends and classmates would make fun of him because she would always come to their classroom at the start of lunch to ask for her "Taichi-senpai". However those jokes had soon turned into envy when Mimi established she was one of the most beautiful students at their school.

His thoughts were interrupted by a light tap on his shoulders. He looked up and gazed into her loving eyes, he smiled and stood up from his seat. He took a quick peek at her figure, she had a white coat on and his eyes traveled down to her blue skirt. He frowned, although it was spring it was still much too cold for her to wear a skirt. He could accept it if it were because of the school uniform but she had the freedom to wear what she wanted today.

"Aren't you cold?" His eyes once again looking straight into her's.

"Not if you stay close to me." She giggled then proceeded to link arms with him.

They walked down one of the larger streets towards a large mall. They were silent as they walked, blissfully enjoying each others company. They had finally admitted their feelings towards each other when Mimi had been bullied by one of his many fan girls for getting too close to him. He had simply gone between the girls, grabbed Mimi and kissed her. Not the brightest idea he had and he was lucky she had replied with the same feelings and not slapped him instead for assault.

Their silence was interrupted when they came across a mother and her small boy. If this had been any other mother and son they would have passed them without much of a care but they had a third with them.

"Mommy, Mommy! Guilmon is getting hungry! Can we get some bread from the store?" The little boy asked.

"You two can wait until we get home, I made a special bread just for you too." The mother smiled. The child and his Digimon looked pleased and both jumped for joy.

It wasn't uncommon to see Digimon in public, after they had finally defeated Myotismon children born after, all had received Digivices. Taichi never questioned how the Digivices had been delivered to the kids, he had always believed a "Storkmon" would deliver them to the newest additions.

As they passed the mother and her son, Mimi simply giggled at the sight of the boy. Taichi looked down towards Mimi, she had a smile on her face which made him smile, he felt as though there wasn't a worry in his life.

"Kids are so cute." Mimi wondered out loud.

"Yeah." Taichi simply replied.

"One day we'll have kids too." Taichi stopped and nearly gagged. He never though Mimi would be so bold.

"Mimi-chan, isn't it too early? I mean we're only on our first date." Taichi was blushing heavily.

Again Mimi giggled, "I said some day dummy. Although if your in such a hurry..."

"What, no, no."

"We have plenty of time, but I'm sure our kids will be the best kids ever." Mimi skipped ahead of him with her hands behind her back.

"Wait. Our kids?" He asked while trying to catch up to her.

The rest of the day was spent in the mall, warm away from the cool spring afternoon now turning into a cold windy night. They had literally spent two hours in a bathing suit store with Mimi trying on hundreds of bikini and Taichi needing to check his blood pressure. She had finally settled on a white two piece which Taichi concluded was his favorite.

They had just finished a nice dinner at a local diner they found on their way back to the train station. It had been decided that since Mimi had missed the last train she would spend the night at his home, it would be nice for her to have a slumber party with Hikari.

They were waiting to cross the street at the famous Shibuya scramble, her arms linked to his arm. People all around them, neon lights and signs were flashing, large television playing ads by cute idols. The traffic light finally flashed green, people hurried to get across before the lights turn red again. They were in their own world and Taichi had failed to notice people around them slowly vanishing. Finally Mimi too vanished and the neon lights faded.

Taichi was confused, he had no idea what had just happened but everything around him was dark. Then, just as everything faded around him, a gigantic idol like statue appeared before him.

"I am Yggdrasil, God of the Digital World." Taichi was not aware the Digital World had a god. Sure there was Azulongmon and he had told the Digidestined there were others like him but never a single god.

"Taichi Yagami! You are at a crossroads. I have shown you a version of yourself that exists in another world. Now you may choose to go back to that dream or you can go back to being Taichi de Basse Normandie."

As if he was hit by a truck, all his memories of being at Saint Germain and then being shot by the Empire soldier rushed back to him. He however was feeling what Yggdrasil just said was indeed a crossroad. He could just stay in this dream forever, but that was the easy thing to do. He felt as though he had unfinished business in that world, he had to find a way home then start his life all over again. His parents were probably worried sick about him.

He sighed and finally said, "I want to go back."

* * *

Notes:  
As I have said, this is one of my favorite chapters because it's something different, a day in life of Taichi and Mimi's relationship if he were still in the real world.

I've also recently posted my first fic challenge on the forums and hope someone will take it up. If you are Harry Potter fic writer who are interested please do write the following fic:  
Theme: Parents Trap  
Relationship: Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass  
Plot: Harry Potter's son/daughter is starting his/her first year at Hogwarts, having been raised in a muggle setting they know little about the magical world. Daphne Greengrass' son/daughter is starting his/her first year at Hogwarts, being raised in a pureblood background. The two meet and come to realize they are siblings and their parents were once happily married. The two plot to bring their parents back to one another.


	19. Book 2 Chapter 9

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 9: The Lady in Red**

It was mid day, the sun was fully above them, the summer air hot and still. They had been marching for a better part of the morning, there was more than two hundred men traveling in their group. They had left the colony three days ago but traveling with more than two hundred man was a slow process and the need to carry supplies slow them even further. Behind him a sea of red coated soldiers each equipped with a long rifle. The only one amongst them with a Digimon was the Governor's daughter Ruki and many of the soldiers considered her to be their goddess of victory.

He still remember the night he had spied on her in the garden. Even though he didn't know her well, she still treated him as her whipping boy and had given him the cold shoulder. Being the only female solder he had ever known, she was dressed like the rest of them, a red coat, black pants, and a heavy pair of black boots replaced her lovely dress. In place of her shoulder length wavy hair from that night, a pony tail held her chestnut hair. She was riding on top of her Digimon, Kyubimon a champion level Digimon from what he could remember.

They had got word that morning from their advance scouts that the Nijeri had attacked another frontier's town only half a day travel from their current position. He had kept his eyes open to any possibilities of an ambush. The frontier from what he had heard during his time at South Wales was a place of lawlessness. People of the frontier were rough and tumble, they knew how to fight and how to win a fight. So if even those of the frontier had been beaten by the Nijeris, they could not be taken lightly.

"We will be taking a break here, have the cooks get lunch ready." Ruki suddenly announced.

Takato stopped and unpacked his backpack. Although they had cooks with them, Lady Mimi had suggested he bring along some extra food. Even though her husband was in critical condition, Lady Mimi had spent the night before his departure baking all sorts of bread with the help of some of the servants. Takato felt a tingle of guilt as both the Governor and Lady Mimi had given him so much even though he was their slave and an orphan. He really did not have anything to live for but both Taichi and Mimi had made his life more enjoyable.

Takato found one of Mimi's breads wrapped in a white cloth, he slowly unpacked it, a small scent of fresh bread reached his noes. He took a bit and another, waiting for the cooks to finish with whatever they were cooking.

"Mister Jackson." Ruki called from the edge of where their group was parked, "I'm going a head to scout our position. I'm putting you in charge."

"Yes my Lady." A red hair answered, his face was rough, his red hair continuing from the top of his head and ending with a large beard.

With tha,t Ruki had hopped back onto Kyubimon and left forward out of his view. Takato sighed and began to relax as did other soldier around him. For a women, Ruki was probably the most ruthless commander he had ever encountered.

The other man around him began lining up where the cooks had been cooking, some on the other hand had been gathered in groups chatting or gambling. Life as a soldier of the Empire was hard, most soldiers he had met were orphans or joined because it was the only job which provided food and housing, they otherwise were street rats. They did not fight for King and Country as most of their commanders did, rather their mentality was that their life had no meaning anyways and the army was simply a way for them to survive the daily hardships.

"Hey French-y! Wanna give us some of that bread your little old mother made for you?" Takato's thoughts were burst when a large red coat approached him. Those around them started laughing.

Takato was not a selfish person, if he had enough bread on him he would have definitely shared. However, he felt as though the bread Lady Mimi had made for him was special, it felt as though a mother had put all her love into it. Therefore he could not share this bread, he wanted to hold what little of feelings of having a mother for as long as he could.

Takato simply ignore the man and went back to eating. The red coat became increasing agitated and Takato could see the man's fist tightening. Anger was rising and the men's face was becoming red.

"Oi! You deaf French-y! I said give me that bread!" The man then grabbed Takato by collar. His arm rose above his head and Takato saw he man's fist forming. Takato closed his eyes readying himself for impact.

"Mr. Tompson!" This time it was the voice of the red head who was put in charge, "I suggest you put the boy down before you want to answer to both the Red Devil and the Terror of Death."

The man huffed at the red head and dropped Takato onto the dusty ground before walking away. Before Takato could thank the man for saving him, a loud howl could be heard through out the camp, coming from the direction of where Ruki had gone.

Takato and the rest of the army looked toward the direction of the howl and was shocked to see Kyubimon return. What was even more shocking was that Kyubimon had returned without Ruki and she was visibly wounded and limping into camp. A large crowd rushed to her, Takato included.

"What happened? Where is Lady Ruki?" the red hair Jackson asked.

"They...they have her." Kyubimon managed to say between breaths, "They ambushed us and they took her! The Nijeri took Ruki!"

Everyone's jaw dropped at this point and Takato could hear murmurs.

"They have..." Kyubimon continue to say, "They have mega Digimons." Kyubimon then collapse as doctors began to work on her.

Takato could see the fear many of the soldiers were experiencing. No human army stood a chance against a single mega level Digimon and now Kyubimon had said there were more then one. Takato quickly gathered himself.

"Mister Jackson, please get the currier pigeon ready. I've been instructed to contact Lord Manchester if anything happened." Takato quickly shouted towards the red head and then faced the others, "We're going after them, Lord Manchester and Lord Liverpool will meet us as soon as they can."

The soldiers quickly pack their belongings while Takato quickly wrote a message back to the manor. He just hoped that Ruki would not be harmed and that the Digimon would arrive in time to save them all.

**O O O**

_February 18, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_Dear Cody di Tottenham,_

_I hope you are well little cousin. I have hear from my mother that the court is increasing their pressure on you now that those who wish to protect you are gone. Do no waiver cousin, you are the King and you must be strong._

_Yamato, the Duke of Orange and Prussia is traveling with me as we head to Venice. We are currently spending a week in Prussia before we head towards Italia's boarders. I wish you were here with me little cousin, the country is beautiful, Yamato's castle is surrounded by forest. It does get scary at night as I have heard stories of witches in the forest from the villagers but I know I have the protection of Birdramon and Yamato's Weregarurumon._

_I have been asking Yamato to teach me how to use a pistol as I no longer wish to be a bystander. The next time we see each other I will no longer be the little weak Lady Windsor and you will surely no longer be the little boy King. I hope to write to you again soon, once I arrive in Venice I will hurry to the port to have another letter deliver to you._

_With all my love,_  
_Sora of Windsor_


	20. Book 2 Chapter 10

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 10: The Captain's Lady**

Life was slowly getting back to normal for the Basse Normandie manor. It had become increasingly lonely for Mimi to not to be having to walk up in the arms of the boy she loved. Koushiro had been running the day to day responsibilities of the governor and Mimi had been thankful he did not betray Taichi when he was in his weakest state. Mimi had thought the shooting was almost a blessing in disguise as she had became close friends with both Koushiro and Davis.

Speaking of Davis, he had since become a younger version of Taichi, claiming that he wanted to be more like his hero. Mimi giggled at the thought of this, as not just weeks ago the young Lord had hated Taichi for making him a slave and now the boy practically worshiped her husband.

She was spending the morning in the garden. It had slowly become her favorite spot, it had a clear view of the sea and it was nice to feel the sea breeze fly through her hair as she was hanging up the laundry. She had been pampered all her life but now that she was doing her own chores, after fighting off servants who would usually do such tasks, she felt more at peace with herself.

She remembered the dream she had the night before Saint Germain had been attacked. Maybe that dream wasn't so far from reality after all. South Wales was the perfect spot to raise her ideal family. She smiled at the fought and continued to hang the laundry.

"Lady Mimi come quick!" A voice shouted from the door of the manor. "It is Governor Taichi! He has awoken!" The servant continue to call.

Mimi paused for a moment and then quickly dropped everything. She ran to the side of Taichi, out of breath, she saw him sitting up, shirtless and covered in bandages.

He smiled at her and said, "I'm back."

Tears began swelling into to her eyes as she jumped head first and wrapped him a hug. He tried his best to comfort her but she only wanted to enjoy their closeness.

"Don't ever leave me again okay?" She whispered then kissed him.

Their moment was only interrupted by a cough. Koushiro and Davis had entered.

Taichi looked toward them and then held up his hand to greet them, "Yo guys."

"Welcome back captain." Koushiro said awkwardly.

"I don't want to interrupt this moment of bliss but we have a major problem." Taichi stared blankly at Koushiro. "Lady Ruki has been kidnapped by the Nijeri. Reports from Takato indicates the enemy has mega level Digimon. Davis and I are heading to their position to reinforce them."

Taichi sighed and finally said, "I'm coming with you!"

"What? You just woke up from a gun wound, you should be resting!" Mimi exclaimed horrified.

"No. If the Nijeri have mega level Digimon then they'll need me. Plus I'm sure I can negotiate with them." He replied as he got up in search of his uniform.

"Then I'm coming with you. I'm not losing you again Taichi de Basse Normandie! And Lilymon and I can help!" Mimi had her determined face on, something she knew her husband could not say no too.

Again Taichi sighed, "Fine, but stay close to me. Davis go get the carriage ready."

**O O O**

_February 28, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil._  
_To Lord Manchester,_

_I would first like to congratulate you on a successful election to the office of Manchester, the old Lord Manchester was a weak man and I am sure you will be much better as governor._

_As you have suggested, the tusk trade is now in danger. With the mishandling of the trade by Bolton and the lack of experience by the french governor, the Nijeri have become bold enough to attack frontier towns. I find it amusing that with only a few warriors and Digimon, they have been able to sack a large amount of frontier's town, all without the aid of any rifles or pistols, only a few spears. I find the Nigeri disgusting, a bunch of savages that have no rule of law but their command of their Digimon have come in use. I find it odd really, having the ability to convince the Digimon that they were once humans, what a savage idea. I think it is best that we subject them to the teaching of Our Lord, Yggdrasil once we have come into power._

_With the colony in such disarray, I am free to roam South Wales and have found a ship willing to take be aboard to the Empire. I shall see you and the rest of the new order soon._

_Jyou de Lyonais_

* * *

Notes:  
Someone please invent amazing voice to text software.

Again, sorry for the short chapter but I can tell you that chapters in Book 3 and 4 are twice as long from what I've written so far. The Digimon will be taking a major backseat from now on. Only five more chapters in this arc and only 9 in the next one. Don't know how long book 4 will be, I've only written 3 chapters and have planned up to chapter 6, but I'm hoping for 15 or more.


	21. Book 2 Chapter 11

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 11: The Elder**

Daybreak was in a few hours, Takato was tired but he couldn't stop in fear of losing sight of the Nijeri. He had a few men with him, the rest of their two hundred or so regiment was catching up to them. They had finally spotted the ones that kidnapped Ruki, he could not see any of the Digimon Kyubimon had said were with them, however Takato knew they were probably out keeping watch.

The Nijeri were gathered around a fire, most of them fast asleep. Takato counted their group to consisting of 23 Nijeri. This confirmed that they probably did have a high level Digimon with them. It would otherwise be impossible for them to raid a frontier's town without enlisting the help of a Digimon. He spotted Ruki, she was tied up and a cloth cover her mouth.

Earlier that night he had heard a conversation between one of the Nijeri and Ruki.

"You will make an excellent bride for the chief. His grandfather says you will bare strong children to us." He remembered the Nijeri say. His heart beat faster at the thought of Ruki getting violated by such savages.

Their current plan was to wait until all of the Nijeri fell asleep or the lookout wonder a little to far from where Ruki was. Then it would be Takato's task to freeing her and escaping back to where the majority of the army was holding. It just so happens that the right moment was now and Takato took from the bushes to Ruki.

"Hey are you alright? Come on we need to get out of here." Takato told her as he quietly removed her bonds.

She woke up from her slumber but he could see she was still in a daze. Her eyes however quickly snapped open and she started gagging from the cloth. Ruki also started to shift around, almost as if she was screaming at him.

Then he felt it, a cold, moist breath going down his spin. He could see the sheer terror in Ruki's eyes. He slowly turned around and was now face to face with two sharp eyes glaring at him. Takato looked at the rest of the body, it belong to a large Digimon, it had a lions mane, and it was growling at him. Two more stepped out behind the one starring down Takato and then another 2 came from either side of the bushes. Takato was speechless, 5 Digimon, all of which looked like large lions he had seen from paintings stood before him.

"How dare you try to take my grandson's bride." It bellowed, the deep voice carried through out the Nijeri camp, no doubt waking everyone up. Takato did not contemplate what the large Digimon meant, he was far too scared.

"!go" The Digimon clicked his tongue and faced one of the Nijeri men, "Bond the boy, we shall take him as a slave."

The men who Takato assumed was !go gathered some left over rope and began approaching him. Takato didn't know what to do. His eyes were the size of the moon, his life flashing before him.

Before the man could come near Takato however, a voice called out from the air, "Flower Cannon!" Then, a loud explosion could be felt between Takato and the approaching man.

Everyone turned their attention skywards, Takato could not believe his eyes. Three Digimon stood before them, all of whom Takato knew every well. Then a small figure leapt from the back of MegaKabuterimon and fell through the sky.

"Agumon Shinka!" A bright orange light engulfed Agumon and a larges armor Digimon then emerged and landed in front of Takato.

"SaberLeomon! Stop this and let them go!" The armor clad Digimon demanded.

"SaberLeomon?" The one that had stared at Takato said, "I am the Nijeri elder !kulu."

The four other SaberLeomon prepared themselves to attack, the Digimon belonging to the Governor's family also prepared themselves.

"Takato!" A voice came from MegaKabuterimon, a voice that belonged to Captain Taichi. "Get Ruki out of there! We'll handle the rest."

Without much need of any other instructions, Takato took the hands of the now free Ruki and ran towards the opposite of where the large Digimon were facing off.

"!kelu, go get them." Takato heard the lead Digimon say.

Before they could get to the safety of the forest, a large figure leapt past them and then faced them.

"Takato!" He heard the voice of Lady Mimi exclaim. Ruki grip on him was tightening, she hid half of her body behind Takato.

He did not know what happened next but he and Ruki were now surrounded by a white light.

"A summoning circle!" He heard Koushiro shout in surprise. "Takato listen to me. You can summon your Digimon, just repeat these words: Anima mea dixero Digimon apparent"

He took a deep breath then exhaled, "Anima mea dixero Digimon apparent!"

The light became even more intense but as the light faded, a new figure stood between Takato and his attacker.

"Gallentmon!" It proclaimed.

Before anyone could react, the newly summoned Digimon raised its gigantic round shield and rushed towards the unsuspecting SaberLeomon. After the first enemy was subdued, Gallentmon continue the disable the three other SaberLeomon that surrounded Wargreymon in a similar fashion. The only remaining enemy Digimon was the lead SaberLeomon.

"Give up SaberLeomon!" The voice of Taichi could be heard as MegaKabuterimon came down for a landing. "I think its best we talk before there is anymore bloodshed."

The remaining SaberLeomon growled in defeat, the Nijeri men behind him lowered their weapons.

* * *

Notes:  
The next chapter or chapters will probably be delayed, as I'll be too engrossed in reading A Dance of Dragons for the next week or so.


	22. Book 2 Chapter 12

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 12: The White Man with a Turtle**

"Why?"

"You white man tricked us into selling you our precious tusks of our ancestors to you so that you may defile it as you wish!" Spat a man dressed in leopard skins who sat across the budding fire as sunlight was slowly coming over the horizon. The man who had been identified as !go by SaberLeomon when he tried to bond Takato.

"We've raised prices to three times the amount we paid before all this started as you demanded." He saw Koushiro yell towards the Nigeri men sitting across from them.

"Your own white man said it was not enough and you should pay more!" !go replied hotly.

"Who?" He finally managed to say.

However, the Nijeri only stared back at him blankly, fearing that they did not understand him, with a serious face he once again bellowed, "Who told you we should pay more?"

"Why should we tell you!" replied another Nijeri sitting beside !go, who Taichi would describe as hot headed from his initial reaction, he looked lower on the Nijeri hierarchy as he wore a simple maroon cloth much in the same fashion as !go.

"Demoine, watch your tongue!" !go ordered, to which Taichi figured the clicking of the name was reserved for the chief and their Digimon.

"Tell me !go, who ordered you to attack innocent people?" Demoine simply huffed at Taichi when he said the word innocent, Taichi feared that negotiations were going to come to a standstill if he did not improve their feels towards each other.

"A white man." !go simply answered.

Taichi raised an eyebrow. From his lectures provided by Koushiro and Mimi, he knew the Nijeri lived in the interior of the continent, miles away from any port towns of European colonist. So a white man to influence the Nijeri to even come into contact with them.

"A white man who had came from the north and told us how you defile our sacred tusks to create demonic idols and instruments to call upon your demons with music." !go replied. "The man himself with a great turtle ancestor!"

Taichi had figured the meaning of ancestor was actually Digimon and the only who he knew had a large turtle like Digimon was...

"Jyou!" "Lyonais!" Taichi, along with Koushiro and Mimi yelled. They looked at each other, all of their faces became pale.

"What is Jyou de Lyonais doing in South Wales?" Koushiro finally managed to ask once they snapped out of their initial shock.

Taichi did not answer, he did not want to see the doppleganger of his friend as someone who could create such chaos. Jyou back in Odaiba was never as strong headed as his counterpart, Taichi simply did not want to see him otherwise.

"Jyou is an evil man. You can not believe him! He has killed hundreds of people in our country." He was shocked to hear Mimi say such a thing, it was as though she had held in her feelings and finally exploded. Back in Odaiba, he had always felt as though Mimi had a thing for Jyou and vice-versa. He remembered the summer of the Diaboromon incident that Mimi was extremely angry with Jyou that he had sent so many gifts to her house and that her parents had found out and assumed she was dating someone without their approval. And the fact that Jyou had been Mimi's counsellor back in summer camp and she would often confide in him with her problems.

Although Taichi was always attracted to Mimi, something that as they grew older Sora would point out every time Taichi was having girl trouble. Sora, being the sister figure she was, had always teased Mimi and himself whenever they had their group gatherings and reminiscing on their adventure. Sora had always been the one to point put it was Taichi who had been Mimi's knight in shinning armour. She would point out it was Taichi who was the first to rush to her when Kuwagamon first attacked, it was Taichi who helped her understand her self in Gekkomon's castle, and it was Taichi who unlocked her crest. Mimi would often just shrug at Sora and walked away, Taichi often felt his stomach fall towards the rejection.

So to hear Mimi say something that her Odaiba self would never say to anyone was a surprise. Taichi continue to look toward the Nijeri and their Digimon. He felt disgusted when he finally realize that when the Nijeri said the tusk was from their ancestors, it must have meant Digimon. He had witnessed Digimon dying before but never at the hands of a human.

"We will stop the tusk trade then." He finally said after much thought

"What!" This time he was interrupted by the young lady they had saved only hours ago. "You can't do that, the Empire relies heavily on the tusk trade to supple the demands of the homeland."

"Then I suggest the Empire start thinking about using other materials," Taichi replied. Lady Ruki glared at him, he could see that Davis and Koushiro also wanted to interject."I'm sure Governor Bolton will have much to discuss with you. However, for now we shall all return to where we came from to cool our heads and I am sure we can continue trade of other material the Nijeri."

"And the girl?" SaberLeomon had finally spoke.

"What about the girl? She's married to him anyways." Taichi pointed towards Takato, which shocked everyone. "Not much you can do with her I reckon."

The Nijeris looked ready to attack but knew they were out numbered by the sheer strength of five high level Digimon, even though they had five themselves. !go simply shook his head in understanding and left towards the north.

Ruki looked ready to attack Taichi herself, knowing that the girl was upset for suggesting she would even think about being attached to Takato. Taichi simply laughed as he lead the way back to the Empire's base camp they had passed last night.

* * *

Notes: Sorry for the late update or early update however you see it, but this week and the next is packed for me. I spent all of last week reading A Dance With Dragons and I have bunch of interviews lined up for next week so nearly no time to write.


	23. Book 2 Chapter 13

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 13: The Girl Across the Sea**

He was unusually happy today. She figured that finally getting to hear back from his sister was putting him at easy, maybe he had finally gotten over his grudge over Takeru. It had been an unusually stressful week for the Basse Normandie household. Taichi was still getting flack over disbanding the tusk trade but was working on better trade relations between the Nijeri and the colony. Governor Bolton was livid when he learned what Taichi had done but his wife had calmed him down after explain it was the least they could do for the safe return of their daughter.

Everything was getting back to normal for the estate, well as normal as they were before. Takato had resumed his role of helping in the fields even with his newly summoned Digimon. Bolton had tried to recruit the boy back into the Empire's army but Takato had refused stating that he owed too much to Taichi and Mimi for him to leave. Bolton had even gone as far as trying to suggest Takato may have Ruki's hand in marriage if he were to return to the Empire, something Ruki was not happy about. The young lady had almost blown up her own father with Kyubimon and then went after Takato for even thinking about her.

Koushiro and Davis were spending more time with her 'husband', she felt as though they were becoming good friends, something she had never imagined would happen during the start of their journey. Taichi had even rushed to their sides when he read over his letter, something Mimi felt a bit jealous about as he did not confide in her of what the contents of his sister's letter contained. Although she remembered that they shared much more intimate moments in the mornings and nights, so she knew he would eventually tell her what his sister had wrote.

Mimi was bringing everyone some morning tea and biscuits, the three of them were working much too hard lately to bring peace back to the colony. As she open the door to enter Taichi's office, she heard their discussion.

"What do you mean I should have just asked? How would I know she was in the Empire?" She heard her husband say. Mimi had become carious to who Taichi was referring too.

"Well how would I have known that you knew Sora?" She heard Koushiro reply. Her attention was now fully on their conversation, Taichi was talking about another women.

"Anyways, where can I find her!" The tone in Taichi's voice was becoming desperate. She felt the pain of jealously rise, as far as she was aware she was the only girl aside from his sister that had known him before they had gone to Saint Germain.

"Sora of Windsor, as your sister has indicated, is the new envoy to bring negotiations of trade between all countries near the Empire's homeland." Mimi nearly dropped the tray that was carrying the tea as her stomach turned into a knot. Mimi knew who Sora of Windsor was, she knew that the girl was beautiful and she knew the girl had a large influence on the King of Britain. She also knew that the girl had many suitors and she feared Taichi was now uninterested in her and wanted to see the young beauty.

She tried to clear her head. There was no way Taichi would leave her, he had made that clear the last few days. Even though she wished their relationship would become cemented soon, after all, she would be free of any marriage contracts if she made her marriage to Taichi official. She entered the room with the best smile she could muster, she was glad Taichi did not notice her sulking.

"Mimi guess what!" Taichi exclaimed happily. "They know where Sora is!"

"Lady Sora of Windsor?" She replied.

"Yea.." He paused, buying time to try and find a believable lie. "I use to play with her as kids!"

"But you never mentioned her when we were kids." Mimi replied, her suspicion growing.

"Errr...when my dad took me overseas for business." Mimi knew he was lying, indeed when they were kids Taichi had gone to the Empire with his father for business but he would have mentioned Sora when he got back, which he never did. Had he been in contact with Sora this entire time? Had he kept their relationship a secret from her? Mimi feared the worst but she had to trust him for now. Maybe she was just jealous and over thinking the matter.

"Anyways." Taichi started, "We have to go see her!"

"Taichi, I don't think its the best idea to abandon your post as Governor just to go see Lady Windsor." Koushiro relied. "Why don't you just write her a letter?"

Mimi looked towards Taichi, she knew he was having an inner battle with himself. Again Mimi did not know why Taichi was so obsessed with the girl after he had received the letter from his sister.

"Damn it. Fine!" Taichi exclaimed as he grabbed a parchment of paper and searched for his pen.

* * *

Notes:  
I had an idea last summer to start up a fanfiction recommandation and review blog. I wrote one blog post and somewhat got distracted with my other blogs that I write for a hobby. Just wonder if anyone is interested in writing for it. I'm looking for as many blogger/readers as possible with a wide range of interest in different fanfiction stories. At the moment I'm trying to gauge the amount of interest, if anyone does want to start this little project with me, please leave a comment, message or email me.

At the moment I'm trying to write at least one chapter a week so that I can do the weekly releases. However, only two chapters left in this book then I plan on taking a week or two off before posting book 3. Just a heads up to everyone.


	24. Book 2 Chapter 14

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 14: The Season of Rain**

It was the first day of April, the clouds were covering the early southern autumn sky, the birds early morning singing dying down as they found shelter against the incoming rain. Taichi Yagami was the first one up, something that he was now doing daily. It was not that he did not want to stay in bed with Mimi all day, he actually wished winter would come sooner so that he could. It had become a custom for Taichi to cook breakfast for everyone, well, mostly those who worked and lived within the manor, those working the fields would be fed my the servants when Taichi was done.

He was up early for another reason, being the first day of the new month it meant mail from countries that did not pass through the colony would arrive, unlike their Royal and Empire counterparts that had ships setting sail on weekly bases. He had written to Sora of Windsor a month ago asking the where abouts of her father. Hoping that the airship had arrived in Swiss and had then been transferred to her place of residence in Venice in little then a month. In truth he didn't expect her to reply so soon but he was too excited to care.

He had been thinking on what Yggdrasil had said when he was in a coma. Actually at first he had thought it was all a dream but he's had weirder experiences. He had finally decided that he did indeed want to find a way home but he also wanted to find ways to connect the worlds together. Taichi didn't want to leave this version of Mimi, he had become too much in love with her over the past year. At Saint Germain he wanted to protect her but here in South Wales he wanted her for himself.

Negotiation with the Nijeris were going well, the tusk trade was all but eliminated. He hated the idea of killing a Mammothmon just for it's tusk, even though the Nijeri did it for sacred reasons and to feed their SaberLeomon elders. Lady Ruki was now forbidden by her mother to leave their manor but Taichi had often found her sneaking about in his manor whenever Catherine came to visit. Takato however didn't enjoy it whenever Ruki came around, he would often be the target for her ranting; Taichi guessed having a mega Digimon certainly didn't score you any points with the ladies.

Koushiro and Davis were now given more freedom, however both having no homes to go back to after being stripped of their lordships, they had to rely on Taichi. And Davis continued on about his life debt to Taichi. Speaking of Davis, he was becoming increasingly good at cooking, most of the Sunday meals were beginning to be made by him, with the help of some servants.

For the first time in three years, Taichi Yagami was somewhat satisfied with his life.

The early morning rain had finally decided to fall, the serene sound of rain calmed him. The crackle of the eggs brought him back from his cooking and the footsteps of a young lady put him on alert.

"You were extra loud this morning." She yawned.

"Sorry if I woke you." He turn towards her slumped figure and smiled. "Just wanted to get down to the port and see if Sora's gotten back to me yet."

He noticed she looked taken back by his comment, as if she did not want to here Sora's name. He had told her he was fully her's and that Sora was only a correspondent he had. She recovered from hearing Sora's name and then kissed him, kissed him as passionately as she could. It was Taichi that was now taken back.

"What was that for ?" He asked once they broke apart.

"Nothing, just wanted to kiss you." She replied.

"You know the rest of us don't want to see that in the morning." Their moment was interrupted with the arrival of Davis and Takato, Koushiro not too far behind them.

"There's plenty of respectable young ladies in town you know, I'm sure a former lord such as yourself, they wouldn't mind a catch such as yourself." Mimi had said.

"Nah. As far as I'm concern, my only target is Catherine de Haute Normadie. That way me and big bro here will be family." Davis replied with a goofy grin. If Taichi had been drinking that moment, he would have nearly ruined Mimi's favorite night gown.

Everyone then burst out laughing, it felt nice to Taichi that everyone was finally getting along. He continued to concentrate on his cooking while Mimi had decided to go change, she had made a comment in the fashion of "only Taichi gets to see me indecent." That morning the Basse Normandie household enjoyed their breakfast without any worry in the world, they laughed, they cried, and they ate the very best meal Taichi had yet to make.

However, as their meal was coming to an end, a servant hurried into the kitchen where it was the usual place for the Basse Normandie house to have their informal meals. The servant was out of breath, she huffed and finally said, "My Lord, there is a party of six to meet you!"

Taichi raised one of his eyes, he had not remember scheduling any meetings with anyone. "Did they give a name?"

"No sir, they said it was a surprise and that you should go meet them in the grand hall." She replied. Taichi and the rest of the gang rose from the table and made their way to the grand hall. When he first entered, the grand staircase was blocking his view of the group who was here to meet him. However, he did see a pant leg which he remembered, he desperately hoped it wasn't who he thought they were.

Then he saw them, he was shocked, and he nearly forgot that no one knew Mimi was with him. He quickly turned around but it was already too late. He could see it in her face, they had already seen her.

"Mimi?" Cried a voice he recognized all to well. The figure ran past where Taichi stood and full tackled Mimi into a hug.

"Taichi? Why is Mimi here with you?" Another voice asked.

He was sweating, he didn't know how to answer his sister, especially to why the run away bride of the King was here half away across the world with him.

"Yolei." He heard Mimi say, "It's good to see you too."

Taichi expected he had a lot of explaining to do.


	25. Book 2 Chapter 15

******Book 2 The Tusk War, Chapter 15: The HMAS Reliant**

It felt as though a hundred eyes were burning holes into his skull, which wasn't that far from the truth. Sweat was run down his forehead and he was nervously taping his fingers on his knee. Mimi sat beside him just as nervous but she hide it well and had a faint smile in her lips.

"So let me get his straight. You" His sister pointed at him, "Allowed her to pretend to be your wife while you kidnapped her?"

"I never kidnapped her." He replied calmly and straightforward, eyes meeting his sister's glare.

"Taichi!" She exclaimed. This was not a good sign as she usually called him 'big brother', this caused him to be taken back. "We are talking about the kidnapping of the Queen Regent. You could get executed!"

He looked at the others, they only had blanks on their faces. Even Ken looked as though he didn't know what was going to happen. Taichi felt embarrassed, if he had known his guest were to be someone who would recognize Mimi, he would have sent her over to the Bolton manor or someplace safe to hide.

"Look little sis..." He slowly stated and again to be stared down by her glare, "It's not like I wanted to upset the king, just that I couldn't leave Mimi with him. No offense Ken"

"None taken." Ken finally spoke up.

"So what now? Does Mimi go back to His Majesty?" Yolei asked.

"No!" Mimi screamed, "I'm staying with Taichi!"

Ken sighed and said, "My brother will choose another bride soon enough, he is too busy with relations with the Empire at the moment to be worried about a wife. If Mimi does not want to go back that's fine with me, Royal's laws do not exactly apply in colonies. And Taichi is pretty much untouchable right now, news has already appeared in Royal about his latest exploits against the Nijeri. My brother cannot afford to arrest the people's hero. For now Taichi is beyond the law."

Mimi looked esthetic, she quickly grabbed hold of Taichi's arm and held on to him firmly. His sister still steaming, Takeru was trying to calm her down without much success.

"So..." Taichi broke the silence that had developed, "Why are you all in South Wales? Saint Germain couldn't have ended the year already?" Taichi had already learned that morning Royal had acquired steam engines from the Empire as a sign of good will. Travel via airship to the colony had only taken the group three days.

"Oh yes." Ken replied and turned towards one of the servants near the entrance to the sitting room. "Please bring our guest in."

The doors opened and in walked a boy near Takato and Davis' age. He was wearing what to Taichi looked like a yukata, however instead of a plain colour like many male wore, his was golden yellow with an embroidery of dragons. Taichi noted the young man moved elegantly towards the sitting area, his head lift slightly higher to show a regal like stance.

"Let me introduce, His Majesty, the third prince of the Ming Empire, Lee Jianliang." Ken said as he stood to allow room for the boy to sit. The boy was followed by a large man with a large long sword attacked to his hips. Taichi could only guess the men was a body guard of some sort.

"I have heard many great stories about you captain." The boy spoke, his words indistinguishable from people who had spoke the language their entire lives. It was one aspect of this world Taichi never bothered to ask was how everyone spoke the same language and yet their names never reflected the country they were from.

"I will get straight to my point captain. I would like to commission your services. You see, there is a rebel in my country who has amassed a great many soldiers. Now they are not the problem, but the man, he is the danger." The Prince spoke formally, his bodyguard beside him with arms folder. The man unlike the prince was dressed in rags, a large shoulder guard on each side made him look all the more imposing.

"What makes you think I can stop him when you cannot?" Taichi asked.

"Simple, he is like you." The Prince pointed at him, Taichi was at a loss at what the prince had said. "The rebel, he has the ability to 'rank up' his Digimon in the same manner as you. In fact, he has the very same Digimon as you."

Taichi looked out the window where Agumon and the other Digimon were going about their business in the gardens. He knew that many people shared the same type of Digimon but as much as he was aware, he had always been told digivolution was impossible. This could only mean that the man they were after also had a Digivice. And then Taichi realized. Realized that this rebel may in fact also be from his world and may also have a way to connect the two worlds.

The prince looked up from where Agumon was and towards Taichi, "The rebel's name is." The Prince paused. Taichi was desperately hoping it was someone he knew from his world.

"**Daimon Masaru**."

Taichi recognized the name to be Japanese in origin, another thing that made Taichi want to meet him even more. He had figured from the prince's name he was from this world's version of China and it was a way for Taichi to get to Japan. It was not that Taichi needed to return to Japan, it was that he was desperately homesick. This was chance that he could not miss.

"I accept your offer Your Majesty." Taichi stood up and bowed the the man. The prince merely looked at Taichi quizzically. Taichi knew that shaking hands was not an accept practice in the east and from growing up with bowing as an act of respect, it only return naturally from someone of Japanese origins.

"I see that you are familiar with our customs." The prince stated.

"Yes your Majesty, I did not wish to disrespect you."

"Very well then." Ken finally spoke up, " We will be traveling to the Southern Capital on board the airship Reliant in a week's time."

They all gave a nod and the prince left with his bodyguard probably back to one of the inns they were staying at. Taichi's attention fell back to his sister and friends.

"I guess that means you guys are staying here?" Taichi spoke up once the Prince and his bodyguard was out of earshot.

"Someone has to keep an eye on you. There's no telling what you and Mimi has gotten into." Hikari replied. "I'm going to be sleeping in Mimi's room tonight, make sure your servants put in an extra bed."

"But I sleep with Taichi every night." Mimi spoke up innocently, which caused Taichi to bang his head on the wall he was previously leaning on.

* * *

Preview Chronicles of Le Monde Book 3: The Cross War

_Her parents were angry with her, Lord Montague nearly fainted when after celebrating his daughters victorious summon in front of his great rival Lord Capulet, that his smirk had turn to a frown the instant Lord Capulet's son had complete his summoning. The two families would have gotten into a major fight if it were not for the interference of her fair Prince Katsuharu. If it were not for the fair prince, the city would have been in ruins by now because of the two feuding family. She never asked why the Montague and the Capulet were at war with each other, but she had heard from her maid that it steamed from an incident generations ago where both head of house had died at each other hand. She was told the two families put aside their feud in order to morn the two but soon fingers began to point at each family as the case of the tragedy._

_She made her way through the small streets of Venice, preferring to walk instead of taking one of the small gondolas. As she rounded the corner leading up to the open space of the main market, she heard an argument, it was no doubt another squabble between the two families._

_"Do you bite your thumb at me?" Asked a husky voice she was familiar with yet could not put a name to it._


	26. Book 3 Chapter 1

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 1: A Song of Wind and Fire**

Two households, both alike in dignity,  
In fair Venice, where we lay our scene,  
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,  
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.  
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes  
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;  
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows  
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.  
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,  
And the continuance of their parents' rage,  
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,  
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;  
The which if you with patient ears attend,  
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Izumi di Montague was not a happy camper. She had again been humiliated by her mortal enemy Takuya da Capulet. They had both finally turn of age and had their summoning ceremony today in front of a large crowd of prominent families gathered at the Piazza d'Acqua. She was first to go about her summoning, with the priest present she concentrated on her summoning. She always loved the wind, how free it was to go about as it liked while she herself was trapped, forever a doll for her family to use. It was no wonder that her Digimon had an affinity for wind, a bird like humanoid Digimon. She was proud of herself, she had summoned a Zephyrmon, a high level champion Digimon. However her joy was soon met with despair when her celebration was cut short by none other than the pompous boy who had stood beside her. A Mega! That idiot had summoned a mega level Digimon. Before she knew it, everyone around them had seen him as the second coming of Yggdrasil.

It was no secret that the Repubblica d'Italia was going to war with the Romans. The Church of Rome was getting fed up with it's northern neighbours and their "devil worship" of Yggdrasil. The Romans were people who saw Digimon was demons and the world was to be cleansed of these evils. However, up to now the Romans have been kept at bay by their lack of Digimon, they were the only country as far as Izumi was aware that had no Digimon. So it was without a doubt that they were at a disadvantage when it came to war with countries who had them. But they now had a great genius born to them and had created great many war machines, machines that were capable of harming Digimon. The Romans had recently came upon a metal ore capable of harming Digimon. The genius Roman had been able to infuse Roman weapons with this miracle metal and was on the path of conquering the world. But even the Romans wouldn't be able to stand up against a Mega Digimon and that was why her most hated person on the planet was now the hero of city.

Her parents were angry with her, Lord Montague nearly fainted when after celebrating his daughters victorious summon in front of his great rival Lord Capulet, that his smirk had turn to a frown the instant Lord Capulet's son had complete his summoning. The two families would have gotten into a major fight if it were not for the interference of her fair Prince Katsuharu. If it were not for the fair prince, the city would have been in ruins by now because of the two feuding family. She never asked why the Montague and the Capulet were at war with each other, but she had heard from her maid that it steamed from an incident generations ago where both head of house had died at each other hand. She was told the two families put aside their feud in order to morn the two but soon fingers began to point at each family as the case of the tragedy.

She made her way through the small streets of Venice, preferring to walk instead of taking one of the small gondolas. As she rounded the corner leading up to the open space of the main market, she heard an argument, it was no doubt another squabble between the two families.

"Do you bite your thumb at me?" Asked a husky voice she was familiar with yet could not put a name to.

"I do not bit my thumb at you good sir, I simple am bitting my thumb" This time it came from a voice she did recognize, it was her older cousin Junpei.

She finally rounded the corner and moved into the main square where a clear crowd formed around the four who where at the center of the dispute. She recognize the four men that were now circling around each other, she again recognized her cousin Junpei but he was followed by her little cousin Tomoki. On the other side she recognized the two boys who looked alike, the twin of the Capulet family Kouji and Koichi. Her head began to swell, it was no doubt that Junpei, being the idiot he was, had angered the usually calm Kouji by a insulting gesture.

She sighed and made her way through the large crowd, "Oi!" She called. "Stop this immidately!"

"Oh what do we have here Montegue, need a girl to help you?" She saw Kouji smirk.

"You insult me my good man!" Then all chaos erupted as Junpei pulled out his foil and lunged at Kouji. However, Kouji too had unsheathed his foil and blocked her cousin in time. Tomoki and Koichi being the more passive members of their family had too pulled out their foils but stood back as Junpei and Kouji fought, only to be involved if their compatriots were to be injured.

Izumi wished she had her newly summoned Digimon with her but Zephyrmon had been taken by her father back to the villa in order for it to become accustomed to her new surroundings in the family stables. Before she could demand them to stop again, a figure emerged from the opposite of the crowd and used their own saber to break the blade of Junpei's.

Then she recognized the person who had cut her cousin's foil. How could she not, years of fighting between the two of them had ingrained his image into her mind. Years of seeing that damn red shirt, years of seeing his wild chestnut hair, and years seeing his overconfident smirk. In some ways she was thankful for the arrival of Takuya but she for the life of her would never admit that in front of him.

"Oh whats this, fair Montague drawing their swords against my innocent kin?" Takuya said, his smirk ever present.

She could see Junpei's face going red with anger mixed with embarrassment. She had to step in before he made a fool out of himself and the house of Montague.

"Takuya, you know that Kouji is just at much fault as Junpei." She said as she made her way to the middle of the circle.

"Oh, why fair Izumi has graced us lower beings with her presence." This had cause the small laugh from the crowd that were all familiar with the two arguing teens. Her face too turn red with embarrassment but before Junpei could refute, Izumi regained her composure.

"And why, if isn't our very own god's gift to the world." She huffed a reply all the while crossing her arms.

"Oh fair Izumi, I do wish you would lay bare before me one day." If red was the colour someone's face turn when they were angry, then Izumi's face was a dark purple.

"NOT EVEN IF YOU WERE THE LAST MAN ON EARTH!" She screamed. "Junpei. Tomoki. We're leaving! I don't want to be seen another second with this imbecile!" She continue to huff in anger as they group made their way back to the Montague villa on the outskirts of Venice.

"Stupid Takuya, just cause he's got a mega he thinks he's better then everyone else. I sware I'm going to stuff that damn mega down his mouth." She mumbled all throughout their journey home.

They arrived at the villa right before dusk settled on the warm late March night. She could see that Zephyrmon was already settled in, she would be living with her father's Digimon in the stables, a large building that had accommodations for a wide range of Digimon types.

"Oh good you're home Izumi." It was her mother, Lady Montague, "Hurry in, we need to get you ready to be present at the fitting for your new dress."

"Yes, the Prince has invited us to his masquerade ball tomorrow night. A party to greet the ambassadors from Royal and the Empire." Her mother hurried her in the house and up the grand staircase.

"Why are there embassies from Royal and the Empire? Are they not at war with each other?" Izumi asked quizzically.

"That was ages ago. The two Kings have made up. I bet they were being controlled by their consolers." Her mother answered her. Izumi had learnt that in the past her mother was a rising star in the political world of the Republic before her family married her off to Izumi's father.

They enter the fitting room, a number of servants already present. She stared at the dress at the end of the room. It was a plain dress, something Izumi was grateful for. However there was a draw back, the neckline of the dress would hug her breast, greatly drawing peoples eyes to them. Izumi sighed for the third time that day, her mother was planning on marrying her at the ball.

**O O O**

He was frustrated. He had once again been rejected by Chiaki. The girl had made an excuse that Takuya was much too wild for her. She wanted someone who wasn't going to be at war with the Romans, something that Takuya all but signed up for when he summoned his KaiserGreymon that morning. He wanted to take his frustration out on someone, most likely one of the many courtesans that roam the street this fair night. But he was a Capulet, someone who was know to the greater population of the city and he could not be caught prancing around with such filth.

Especially if Izumi found out, she would never let him live it had been rivals with each other ever since he could remember. He didn't know why he hated the girl, except that their family had been feuding since beginning of time. He would never admit it, but ever since they were kids he had a crush on the Montague girl, he had always found her to be beautiful. His heart would sore whenever he caught sight of her when their families gather for one the princes' get togethers. She had grown into a beautiful young woman but he would never actually tell that to her.

She was also becoming known country wide for her beauty, he had caught word from the prince that many suitors were waiting in the shadows for her to debut. There was word that even prominent Romans were waiting in line for her hand. He sighed. Even Chiaki couldn't take his mind off of Izumi. The whole reason why he was so interested in the girl was to put his mind at easy in the first place but she had continually reject his advances.

He was in the main plaza, sitting on one of the many steps leading up to the largest cathedral within the city. His sulking was interrupted by a shadow blocking his view of the full moon.

"Good evening dear cousin." Kouji stated, Koichi followed not to far behind.

"And what is so good about this evening?" He replied.

"And what has caught you such despair?"

"Chiaki has rejected me yet again." Takuya replied too embarrassed to meet Kouji's eyes.

"Ah yes, young love. Such a disease that has brought down thousands of good men." Kouji went on, "Come cousin I know what will cheer you up. The Prince has invited the Capulet house to attend his ball to welcome our guest from Royal and the Empire. I am sure there will be plenty of young women for you to devour. Why even Chiaki will probably be there and another chance for you to woo her."

"Ah! What the hell! Why not!" Takuya brightened up and jumped to his feet.

"Good, we must go prepare. Why young Takuya here will be dressed in the finest this town has to offer!" Kouji stated as he lead the group down a busy street.

That night they had spent within stores that were still open, as promised Takuya had bought the most expensive cloths they could find. They then proceeded all throughout Venice cracking jokes and picking on those who they considered beneath them. It seemed as though they were on top of the world. That is, until they return home in the early morning, drunk beyond any comprehension. Of course that afternoon when Takuya had finally made his way to where his kin were going about their busy day, his head felt as though it was pulsating pain.


	27. Book 3 Chapter 2

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 2: A Game of Hearts**

Whenever her mother called for her, it was not a good thing. Last time she had called Izumi to her chambers was when she had blown up at Takuya for sneaking a beetle down her dress. If it were only that, her mother would not have a problem, however this was in front of her fair prince Katsuharu and a hall full of nobility. She was punished for acting un-lady like in front of all those people and the worst of it was how Takuya had gotten of scott free and was probably laughing about it to this day. Izumi knew she was going to be punished for what happened yesterday, for the Montague only daughter to be shown up by the Capulet eldest son once again.

She knocked on her mother's chamber's door and heard a faint "coming in" from the other side. She opened the door to the large room, walls layered with thick pink marble and inlaid with gold veins. At the centre of the room stood her mother. To this day Izumi still saw her as the most beautiful woman in all of Venice, she had always admire her mother for her beauty and her personality. Her mother gave her a smile and shuffled her to sit on one of the chairs.

"Izumi dear, how old are you now?" Her mother asked. It was a silly question, of course her mother knew her age, it was a ploy to tell Izumi that she should act her age.

Going along with her mother's act, Izumi replied, "Fourteen since last month mother."

"And have you thought about marriage yet?" Her mother asked. Izumi was at a shock for words, her mother was planning on marrying her off, there was no other to explain why they were having this conversation.

"No mother, I am still too young." Izumi replied as she tried to keep her composure.

"There are many your age that are already mothers. I was only fourteen when I gave birth to you." Her mother stated blankly.

"What are you getting at mother?" Izumi finally asked, she was done playing her mother's game and now wanted answers.

"The valiant Teppei seeks your hand." Lady Montague stated.

"The prince's cousin?" Izumi asked, shocked.

"The very one. What do you say dear daughter, will you take his side?" Her mother asked.

"If that is what you wish of me mother, but know this, I will only marry for love. If he is to love me than I wish with all my heart that I will love him too." Izumi replied, best trying to hide her feelings of doom and dread.

"Come dear daughter, in time you will grow to love him. Sir Teppei will be attending the prince's feast tonight, it is best that you make a good impression on the young man." Izumi gratefully thanked the stars that the event required her to wear a mask, this meant she wouldn't actually have to meet Teppei face to face if she could help it.

She spent the rest of her afternoon lofting around the villa, not having anything to do, she decided it was best to spend her time by bathing herself in warm water. She had called for an servant to draw her a bath while Izumi prepared her ball gown for the nights festivities. As she took to her bath, her mind slowly drifted towards the events of yesterday afternoon and her encounter with Takuya. She cursed herself for even thinking about the boy as it resulted in her anger rising.

She slowly closed her eyes but her mind still lingered on what Takuya had said. He wanted her to lay bare before him, she wanted to believe that he was only joking in the manner she was accustomed to whenever Takuya was around. However, she blushed at the thought and laughed outwardly. She and Takuya could never love each other, their families were mortal enemies, if her father found out that she was even having these thoughts, she would surely be disowned.

Her mind then travelled to the thought of the ball. The prince was holding the ball to welcome ambassadors from Royal and the Empire, two very powerful countries once bent on taking over the world. She wondered what reasons they had for trying to help the Republic against the Romans. Maybe they were both after the new ore the Romans had or their super weapons. If...when the Republic goes to war against the Romans, then Takuya would be called to the front lines. Izumi didn't know how to feel about that. Sure she hated the boy but no enough to see him dead and if the Romans did indeed have weapons that could beat Digimon then it was more than likely Takuya could die.

Then she felt jealousy. She too wanted to fight on the front lines, to prove herself and maybe to escape any plans her family had of offering her hand to Teppei. She had met him once, when she was still little and he in his teens. He was a short man, only reaching his cousin's shoulders in height. She knew that she would never love the man, she feared that she would love Takuya faster then she would come to love him. She shouldered the thought, marriage to Takuya also made her sick.

**O O O**

Candle light danced as they tried to illuminate any darkness in the still room, their human counterparts mirroring in their dance. On one side of the room, a large room grand and sparkling from the fire light, a quartet of musicians bowing on their instruments, the vibrations putting all those present at ease. The current piece the quartet was preforming was an upbeat one, one that had recently become a popular hit to those of stature, a ball would not be a ball without this song. This song, named after a fictional town from a popular fantasy book, a town that was known for its seaside serenity, its fantastical machines, and as the song name indicated, its fish.

Takuya da Capulet laughed at the last part. He remembered when he first heard this song, at first he thought who ever originally wrote the song must have been a fan of the popular fantasy story. He often found himself humming to the song whenever he was out wondering Venice or even when he was working around the villa. He could see people clearly loved this song, all around him he could see those who clearly knew each other were dancing. This being a masquerade ball, it wasn't uncommon that there were people who knew each other, Takuya actually felt that he was the odd one out and he was the only one who was by himself.

There were people he recognized, the prince for one and his damned cousin. A short man but Takuya hated him, the man always somehow stepped on Takuya's sore foot, always trying to prove to everyone he was every bit better than Takuya. He also recognized Chiaki, her usual childish twin pony tails gone, replaced with beautiful shoulder length hair. He grew angry seeing her, remembering the rejection he received last night, but he was also angry at the sight of her chatting as if she was a child in a candy store with a tall blond man.

He was temporary distracted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to face the one trying to get his attention. He nearly stumbled backwards and fell. A young lady stood in front of him, she had shoulder length amber hair, her almost amber eyes looking at him and a faint smile on her pink lips. The mysterious young lady was stunning, whereas Izumi was beautiful, this girl was had an air of elegance.

She flicked her eyes and her smile grew. "You look as though you are not enjoying yourself. Come let us dance."

The mysterious girl took his hand led him to the centre of the room. Takuya took time to take in the mysterious girl. Her elegance was quite clear to him now, there was just enough light given off by the candles to see her smooth skin, her smile once again feint. He took note that she was taller than him, giving him the knowledge that the girl was older than himself. She took his hands and started to guide him into the dance.

"So tell me about yourself Mr. Stranger." She laughed lightly as she continued to lead him through the piece the quartet was currently playing.

"Takuya." Was all he could say, he was blushing too hard to say anything else. He was not in control of his mouth, it was as though his mouth had it's own mind.

"Sora." She replied, "Sora of Windsor".

"huh?" He's mind came back to focus, his mouth open ungracefully.

"My name is Sora of Windsor and I would guess you're Takuya da Capulet. The Prince was telling me about the major families in this city and the only Takuya I remember him saying was Takuya da Capulet." She explained.

"Ahhh...yeah, that's me." She smiled at this.

"It seems that the Prince was right, you look like the hero type." She said as she laughed slightly. The dance was now at it's mid point, the beat however still on the same pace. He gave her a questioning look but she answered before he could say anything, "The Prince told me about how you are the first person in a century to have summoned a Mega since the prince's own grandfather. It seems that Lord Yggdrasil knows there is war coming soon, just as he did with the Terror of Death."

"The Terror of Death?" He managed to reply through the loud music.

"Yamato, as in the Prince of Orange told me about how a hero appeared during the Two Day War. I don't know the details but Yamato has told me that the boy has the unique ability to 'rank up' his Agumon. It seems to me that you are just like him, Lord Yggdrasil has honour you with great power in the time of great need." She replied seriously.

Takuya blushed and open his mouth to reply, however no words came. He was too embarrassed to reply as the girl who he was holding was too beautiful and he feared he would make a fool out of himself if he had said anything. As much as he wished to share more time with this mysterious girl who had came to him, the song ended as did the dance. Again Takuya wanted to say something to her but he was stopped when she spun him around and offered his hand to the girl who was dancing beside them. It was common curtesy for the dancers to change partners once the song was coming to an end and the next to be played.

Takuya felt his anger rise as he wanted to continue talking to Sora. She was by far the most fascinating lady he had met and he wished to spend more time with her. However, the new girl he was introduced to was just as beautiful. Takuya felt a hint of familiarity from this new girl, her golden hair, full of curls and waves hugged her heart shaped face. Her cheeks were pink in blush, Takuya figured the girl was as attracted to him as he was to her.

To now Takuya had not known the meaning of love at first sight, the closes he ever felt to this was when he first met Izumi when they were children, but that was puppy love. Then his mind drift back to Sora, the girl he had just met. Sora was someone who interested him but this new girl was someone who made his heart drop and his once loud mouth become quite for the second time tonight. They took their position as the next song began to play, this piece, much slower in pace than the last.

Takuya took this chance to hold the girl closer to him. He did not want to be seen as a pervert but something in his head was telling him to hold this girl close and to never let go. Where Sora was someone he wanted to talk to, this girl was someone he wanted to hold, to smell her hair, and to kiss those pink lips of hers.


	28. Book 3 Chapter 3

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 3: A Clash of Houses**

She did not wish to let go but the song was slowly coming to an end, as well as the evening festivities. She did not know how long they had been dancing together but as each song would come to an end, they refused to leave one another for another dance partner. She knew she was being selfish, she could feel all the other noblewomen's eyes on her and the lust in their eyes for the young men she was dancing with. He seemed familiar, almost as if she'd known him her entire life but she could not remember anyone who was so gentle with her. For some reason, her mind moved to Takuya, something about this man reminded her of him but at the same time he was nothing like her childhood rival.

Takuya was rough and harsh whenever they were together, he often pushed her out of his way as if she didn't exist or he would sneer at her and make fun of her when they were being tutored at the same school. Yet this boy. No, this man who looked very much like her most hated person was so gentle with her, he held her as if she was the only one that existed, he smiled at her when they danced. For the first time she thought she was in love, unlike the childhood crush on her Prince, no this was more than that. She felt she needed this man, she felt as though she would give her self to him, she was in love.

Izumi desperately wanted to know who this man was, was he someone she knew, was he someone from another city in the Republic or as the sly part of her thought, was he an spy from Roma here to capture her heart? All of these questions raced through her head has they dance the final dance. She had read stories of whirlwind romances, her favourite was the legend about her ancestor, a timeless romance of her great great grand uncle and Takuya's great great grand aunt who had both loved each other so deeply that they ultimately killed themselves in fear of not being able to be with each other. It was a tragic story, but Izumi had always taken it with a gain of salt, believing that most of the story was made up to warn her family to never cross the line against the Capulets. Izumi had once dreamed that Takuya and her were reincarnation of their ancestors and would have a whirlwind romance but those fantasies were when she was still a little girl who had believed in the power of true love and before she became accustomed to Takuya venom towards her.

She did not know why she was having those memories of Takuya when she was in the presence of a gentlemen. Maybe some part of her wanted this man to be Takuya; no it was more like she desperately want him to be Takuya. She did not know why. She had thought she had always hated him; she hated his boyish smile, she hated his courage when it came to defending the defenceless, and she hated him for always being better than her.

It was then she finally realized, after all this time, she was not in love with this man who she was dancing with. She was in love with Takuya. It was this man who made her come to terms with her feelings. Sure she still felt the gentleness coming from him but she realize that after tonight they would probably never see each other again, however Takuya was always there for her, even though they were made to think they hated each other. She could not imagine her life without Takuya, even through all the pain she had suffered from his pranks, he was someone who was her equal, someone who breathed life into her.

She looked at the man in front of him and as if a heavy veil was finally lifted from her eyes, she sheepishly breathed, "Takuya."

The man looked startled, his face twisted into a questioning look but there was no doubt in her mind that this man in front of her was her childhood rival.

"How did you know? Who are you?" She detected a hint of panic from his voice but the same gentleness that he had exerted all night.

"I'v...I've always known." She replied, then she closed the the gap between them, she could feel his breath on her, slowly but pronounced. She kissed him, it was gentle, just like he was with her when they danced. She enjoyed it, as if her entire life was building towards this moment. She tasted him, she could have swore it tasted like deep chocolate, exotic like its real life counterpart that was only found in the Empire's colonies. She did not want this moment to stop, she could hear the song coming to an end, she could hear the claps forming from the rest of the party goers, and she felt his hands gently pulling her even closer.

**O O O**

It was nearly dawn, he had not slept for what seemed an eternality, yet he did not care, he was still in a daze. Tonight seemed endless and at the same time it seem to be much too short. He did not know how much time had pass, only that he could see the blazing sun slowly creep through the cloudy skies. He wasn't playing attention to what was going on around him nor did he know where he was, only that the events of what transpired after the ball still played through his mind in an infinite loop.

_The ball was over, they had said their goodbyes even though they were reluctant to let go of each other's bodies. It had took Izumi's mother coming near and the fear that she would find the two enemies embracing like two rabbits. They finally let go and Takuya quickly making his way out of the room so that no one could identify him. With the help of the darkness of the night, Takuya followed the carriage holding Izumi and her mother Lady Montague back to their villa on the outskirts of Venice. The streets were easy to navigate through and he had been able to keep out of sight by traversing on the roofs of the many houses which lined the streets. At an early age, Takuya found that anywhere in Venice could be quickly accessed by travelling above the city, even more so than the canals. _

_Once both parties had arrived at the home of Lord Montague, Takuya quickly hid himself in the safety of the trees growing next to the villa's stables. His eyes made his way to where Izumi and her mother stood, just after they had exited their couch after a long night's travel. He could not tell the expression Izumi was wearing on her face, all Takuya knew was how perfect she looked in the moon light. There was a fire raging inside of him, a fire that was fuelled by years of yarning for her and now that she had finally acknowledged their love for one another, he was not about to let her be taken by anyone else._

_He waited for Izumi and the Montague household to settle in for the night before Takuya made his move. The villa was a large one but not to the extent of the Capulet's and Takuya noted, much easier to navigate through. Like all villa within the city and those that surrounded the countryside, it was relatively easy to guess which rooms belong to whom and which rooms to avoid if he wanted to stay alive and not be caught. It was simply really, all of these Lordly villas had a courtyard at the very centre of the land, it was likely that Izumi's room was facing the courtyard. Like all villas, the basic structure was square, the entrance was facing south and the stables to the right. Takuya made his way around the outside of the villa until he spotted a tree tall enough and close enough to the wall so that he could make his way to the roof and then down into the inner courtyard._

_Takuya tried to be as quite as he could, but the roof being slightly damp from the spring whether, it was difficult for him to keep traction. More than once he nearly slip and would have either woken up the entire household or if luck would have it, he would have fallen to his death. He was lucky that Montague's courtyard also had a couple of trees in which he could leap onto and as a means to make an escape once he had complete his visit. He made his way to the centre of the courtyard and started his scout for Izumi's room. It wasn't too difficult to identify the bedrooms as they were the only ones that had balconies. Before he could conclude on which one was Izumi's room, one of these such balcony's door began to unlatch and open. Without needing a reminder, Takuya quickly ducked into a nearby bush so that he could avoid capture._

_To his lucky, once he had enough to gather himself and look to see who had scared him nearly to the point of having his heart explode, it was Izumi who had made her way to her balcony. She was wearing a lavender sleeping gown, it hugged her upper body quick well. The gown blew a bit from the slit breeze of the night, enough so that Takuya could tell the dress was made of silk, of a fine quality that it was refine enough for it to have a transparent like quality according to Takuya's well trained eyes. Her golden locks framed her body and made her face unreadable. Everything about her made his heart beat faster, his voice was caught in his throat but he gathered himself well enough to make his way underneath her balcony without her absent mind noticing. _

_"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Izumi is the sun. Arise, fair sun and kill the envious moon." He called out, loud enough for Izumi to clearly hear and soft enough so that only Izumi could hear. _

_"Takuya!" She was startled but soon her eyes made contact with his, "What are you doing here? Are you insane? Do you know what could happen if my father caught you?"_

_"I had to see you, I don't ever want to be without you again!" Takuya replied giving her one of his classic smiles._

_"Takuya, I...I..." Her speech was caught in her throat, he could tell she was struggling to say what was on her mind, "I can't be with you anymore. Mother has informed me that I will be given away to the Prince's cousin. I wish there was another way Takuya but father will never let me marry a Capulet such as yourself and I would disgrace my father if I were to refuse his majesty."_

_He was heartbroken, after all this time knowing Izumi and now finally being able to share his feelings for her in the open, he learnt that she was already promised to someone else. _

_"I won't let that happen! I'm not going to lose you to some damned prince! I'll fight him if I have to but I'm not going to lose you now that you finally know how I feel!" He replied, trying to keep any feelings of dread within him but he wanted Izumi to know that he wasn't going to give her up without a fight._

_"Takuya..." She whispered softly but enough so that Takuya could hear. It was then that he could tell her resolve was the same as his, "Meet me at Tribunale di Yggdrasil at noon, I have a plan!"_

_He nodded to say he understood, he quickly found his escape route and made his way back into town. _

And here he was, wondering the city since his run in with the Montague princess. He knew he would not be able to sleep but whatever Izumi's plan was, it would require his undying attention. He would have to go home and get some rest, his mother would probably wake him before lunch and that would be his cue to meet Izumi.

* * *

Notes: You know that every time I write something with remotely any fluff, it means I'm reading a shoujo. What, it's totally not weird for a guy to read shoujos.  
Also, each chapter in this book will have a name referring to the A Song of Ice and Fire series and once I run out of books, I'll just find another series to make reference to.

This weeks rant is on the subject of the new Xros Wars series. Dear staff writers, wouldn't it make more sense for Yuu to contact Nene, seeing as they're siblings before Taiki? Maybe I'm just angry because Nene is seemingly written out of Xros Wars.


	29. Book 3 Chapter 4

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 4: A Feast of Princes**

Some how in her mind, she always knew. Always knew that Takuya would be the one, always knew she was in love with the goofy brown-haired boy and she'd always knew he was in love with her. It was the hatred between their families and their own pranking on each other that had hidden this undeniable fact from the two until now. The night before had been heartbreaking for her, after nearly being forced away from Takuya after their confession, the carriage ride back to the villa nearly reduced her to tears. She was day dreaming about how she and Takuya could somehow be happy with each and undermine their parents when her mother broke the news to her that a marriage contract had been agreed upon orally between the Prince's cousin and her father during the time of the Prince's little ball. Not wanting to be seen suspicious with her elicit affair with the Capulet prince, tired to look disconcerted about her future life as the wife of Teppei, the prince's cousin.

Her mind did not allow her to sleep that night, trying to find a way to clear her thoughts, she opted for stargazing. She was surprised that once she found her mind travelling to the stars, they were reawakened by the call of her beloved Takuya. He confirmed his resolution to have her, to not let anyone else have her, and she herself felt the fire in herself to have him. She did not want to disgrace her father's name by rejecting Lord Teppei's hand in marriage but she could never deny her passion for her eternal rival. Izumi finally decided that enough was enough and that her father had no say for her happiness. She was going to listen to her heart and deal with the consequences when the time comes.

She had decided. She convinced Takuya to meet her at the Tribunale where she would put her plan in place. It was simple, a secrete marriage that only Takuya, herself and a priest would be witness to. They would then run away together, far away, to Royale or to the Empire, even as far as the 13 Colonies of New Britain if they had to. Of course this little stunt would bring shame to her family name but she could not live with herself if she denied her own happiness. She hoped her father would sooner or later forgive her for her selfishness and that one day they may even see each other again but for now, she would finally have Takuya to herself.

As she thought about it, she was blind for all these years. They had always been with one another, not a day had gone by without Takuya or herself acknowledging one another but often it was to mock each other. She wondered what would have been if their families were not rivals with each other, would they have grown up together as best of friends, would her father had offered her hand to Takuya instead if he asked, would it had been a grand wedding such as the ones her mother had often promised to her when she was little?

Deciding to not further delay her plans for the day, the young blond finally escaped from her warm bed covers and dress for the day. Of course, her plan was to hold a secrete wedding and that meant she could not dress for the occasion and a simple everyday dress and a travelling cloak would have to do. She would have to lie to her mother and make up some excuse about needing to go into town to meet with other ladies of her age. Finally settling upon her violet dress, one that she often used for school and shopping purposes, she decide upon seeing her family one last time before her plan of running away came to pass.

Seeing as it was a bright and sunny day, it was apparent her family would have decided on having breakfast in the gardens. The same gardens not too long ago Takuya had been in and had declared his undying love for her. Izumi giggled to herself, Takuya wasn't known for being the best with words and after witnessing his unsuccessful attempts to court Chiaki, she would have never expect that Takuya could be romantic.

"Izumi! Daydreaming like that is unbecoming for a lady such as yourself!" Her bubble-headedness burst upon hearing her mother's voice.

"Now now dear, I think our little Izumi is just excited about her future husband and was day dreaming of the wonder grandchildren she will soon give us." Replied her father as he tried to calm the older Monatgue women down. Izumi could not look straight at her father, in fear of showing any signs of betrayal or for the guilt that had been placed upon her. "Come, sit and have some breakfast with us dear, it will place you in a good mood for when the valiant Teppei comes to finalize the marriage contract."

"Actually father, I fear that I am not as wise as you are with business dealings and I am sure you will know best to make me happy with my future husband. I had plan to go into town and tell the news to Lady Chiaki while Teppei and yourself go over the details" She lied to her father, surely she this was going to live with her for the rest of her life but Takuya was worth reliving such a horrid moment.

"Oh, my little princess already the gossiper. I see that you will make a fine wife for Lord Teppei. Of course, enjoy your day with Lady Chiaki." Her father replied as Izumi dug into what little food she could stomach. For the rest of the morning was relatively peaceful, idle chit chat about the weather was heard but nothing compared to the next moments of her life. It was when she had just finished her meal when her cousins Junpei and Tomoki raced to the villa on horse back shouting as they appeared down the road. The shouting became even louder as they arrived and at a climax when the two Montague boys ran into the gardens, their pants and boots thick with mud as a result of their frantic riding.

"Roma!" The boys repeated over and over again before Lord Monatgue managed to calm them down. "The Roma army have been spotted not two days walking distance from Venice. The Prince has gotten word that Bologna has already fallen and they will be heading towards Verona and Venice!" The boys finally managed to say.

"How is that possible, Bologna had more than enough Lords with Digimon to defend the city from a Roman invasion." Izumi's father demanded, Izumi too was curious as to how an army without any Digimon were able to overpower those who had more than enough to easily wipe out the Romans.

"It is the genius, Milord! The Golden Lion! He has created weapons capable of defeating Digimon, he himself have been seen in the battlefield. The prince's informants have said he is capable of defeating a hundred Digimon by himself!"

"Do not fear, the Capulet boy has summoned a mega and as much as it pains me to say it, the Capulet will defend this city." Izumi was shocked that her father would admit that Takuya was capable of doing anything but more so as her plan was to run away with Takuya. What would he say now if he knew their city was in trouble? His hot headedness would have him fight in the battle and that would ruin her plan. However, she knew that even if she did want to run away with Takuya, he would still want to do anything in his power to fight. She would have to convince him they should run once the fighting was done, even then there was no telling when her father had intended to give her to Lord Teppei.

Knowing that not much else could be done, she excused herself and prepared herself to go see Takuya. She need his reassurance after all that had gone on this morning.

**O O O**

Takuya did not know what was going on but there was constant shouting from some place or another as he slowly made his way to the designated meeting spot between himself and Izumi. From what he had gathered, Roma was going to attack Venice in a matter of days. If that were the case, maybe he could convince the Prince to let him have Izumi's hand in marriage over the Prince's cousin after he became the hero and defeat the Roman Army singlehandedly with KaiserGreymon.

It had only been two days since his fateful summon of his mega Digimon, however with all that had transpired, with his whirlwind romance with his eternal rival, he had yet had any time to spend with KaiserGreymon. However, this was not a concern to him, Digimon were simply tools for the nobels to showcase as a status symbol. And if the Romans did indeed make their way to Venice, Takuya had no doubt KaiserGreymon would easily take on the entire army himself. In any outcome Takuya could percieve, he would be the hero and surely the Prince would kneel to Takuya's needs. He did not realize that he was already half way up the stairs leading to the church, he was still too busy day dreaming about his knightly future but he was somewhat curious as to why Izumi had chosen this as the location for their meeting. It would have been much simpler if they met somewhere that was more secluded, such as one of the more remote routes just outside of the city western walls. The church on the other hand, although the inner sanctums were rarely visited by the public, there was still enough monks and priest to catch wind of their affairs. In fact, he was almost sure this was the most awkward place they would have decided upon but Izumi seemed to have a plan.

He made his way to the seats closes to the alter, still pondering as to what Izumi might have been thinking. Although it was near noon, when the sun was at its peak the church was considerably dark. The church was a fairly large in size, when he was a child he would often run up and down the centre of the church, counting about fifty rows of seats. Hundreds of candles lined each side of the church, the fire fluttering as wind from the main doors drifted in. The ceilings, magnificently high with dozens of candle chandeliers lining parallel to the centre walk way. And of course at the every end of the church, where the alter sat, stood a large statue of beautiful women, a goddess. However, this was no ordinary goddess, actually now that Takuya thought about it, this wasn't a goddess at all, it was a statue of His Holy Lord, Yggdrasil. Takuya was never a religious individual, but as a good Venetian he never questioned his religion, only that Lord Yggdrasil was the creator and the end of all things.

Although he never took religious studies all to seriously, he knew that Lord Yggdrasil had many forms the world took to worshipping. He knew that many cities that made up the Republic worshipped Yggdrasil as the earthly mother, however just past the Alps, in Royal, Yggdrasil was simply depicted as an omnipotent being, where the Royal churches would often place a large glass sphere to represent this. The weirdest story he heard about Lord Yggdrasil came from sailers returning their journeys to Ming. In the far east, Yggdrasil was seen as everything and nothingness at the same time, this thought along hurt Takuya's brain. He had heard there was no large churches to worshipping Lord Yggdrasil, only small family shrines in each families home, believing that once an ancestor died, they would become part of infinity of Yggdrasil's being.

However, it was Yggdrasil that was currently causing the Romans to advance from their little city state and try and purify the world of the evil they believed as Yggdrasil. The Romans, in the mind of Takuya were just a bunch of no believers, those who lived on the fringe of the Republic. He laughed a little to himself, the Romans were waging war because of their belief of their own god, whom they believe was more powerful than Lord Yggdrasil, in fact they even had gone as far as denying the existence of their Lord. The Romans were a cruel race of people, they were trying to imprint their God on the world and if those who oppose their religious came along, they were dealt with. The Romans left a path of death on their holy march, Takuya had already heard stories coming from Republic cities near the boarder with the Romans, all of the stories were the same, death was inescapable. It would satisfy him greatly if he were the one to end the Romans reign of terror. Takuya looked forward to meeting this Golden Lion that he heard rumours about. Genius or not, he was no match for a mega Digimon.

"Takuya...Takuya?" He felt a warm hand stork his check, waking him from his daydream. The voice that called him was soft, full of love, it put him at peace. He looked up to find his beloved Izumi, however she was not alone, as there was a simply dressed priest standing behind her.

"Izumi!" He replied as he stood up and took in her scent before embracing her body.

"Ah, young love" Exclaimed the priest, "It is such a shame that your families do not recognize such beauty between two younglings in love."

"Your Holiness, I have come to you with a request!" Exclaimed Izumi as she broke from his embrace and turned to the priest, "Please I beg of you, marry Takuya and I in secret. I can not go another day knowing that I am yet married to my beloved Takuya." Takuya himself was shocked to finally learn the reason as to why Izumi chose the church as their meeting spot. She had planned for them to be married today in secret and knowing Izumi after all these years, she had probably planned for them to run away once the secret ceremony was completed.

"Now, now young one. It shames me such a wonderful day must be celebrated with such secrecy but I can not refuse a request made upon me by fateful citizens of our Lord Yggdrasil. With war to soon loom over us, it would be my great pleasure to marry two lovers before our grand city should be plagued by such evil as the Romans." The priest turned and begged the two to follow, "Come, I shall preform the ceremony in the basement, we can not afford to have witnesses to have eyes on you."

Izumi had grabbed Takuya's arm before he could protest but even though he wanted to, he was too stunned to even talk and the fear of upsetting his love if he were to refuse this plan. The ceremony was a short one, with no witnesses or family, it simple blessing by the priest was all that was needed to officially marry the two once rivals. Again, Takuya was too shocked to move a muscle during the entirety of the ceremony. Once the priest had finally without a doubt declared them as a married couple, Takuya felt as though the floor beneath gave way and crumbled into an endless pit. The priest had left to give the two some privacy, going onto his everyday duties and preyers.

Izumi turned her attention back onto Takuya, her forest green emerald eyes borrowing deep into his chestnut counter parts. Knowing Izumi for most of his life, he knew exactly what she was going to say next.

"Let's run away together! To Royal!" She quickly stated, almost as if she was out of breath.

"Izumi." He said softly, commanding enough so that what he said next would tell her that he was in charge of their relationship, "You know I can't do that. You heard what the streets are saying. Roma is only days away, Venice will need me."

"But what about me? What about us? Please, let's run away. Away from this place! Somewhere where we can be happy, be together..." She begged, taking his collapse hands into her soft face and slowly whispered, "forever."

For the second time that day he was speechless, hundreds of thoughts going through his head trying to find an answer for the crying girl. Not knowing what to do, he was mildly thankful for what happened next.

A large explosion could be heard above them, through the churches large open doors. After, chaos on the streets began to filter into the little basement the two lovers were currently in. Screams and more explosions.

* * *

Fun Facts:  
Aisles of a church are the side passages, the centre is the nave. So girls, I hope you never dream of walking down the aisle one day.  
Izzy was the manager for Taichi's football/soccer club at the time of Digimon Adventures.


	30. Book 3 Chapter 5

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 5: A Storm of Guns**

It was a cloudless night, the half full moon was shining brightly, illuminating her room as if many of her candles were still lit. Tonight was unusually quite, after all, it was a midsummer's night, where birds would sing well into the night from the uncomfortable heat. However, tonight was not like the many other midsummer's nights Izumi had experienced throughout her short life. She could not sleep and she doubt many of the city's citizens could fall asleep either, after all with all the chaos and terror of the day's events were weighing heavily on the shoulders of many Venetians. What was to be her most cherish day ended up as a memory which she wished she had never known, but she would never rid herself of all the chaos and terror she had seen on her wedding day.

She hated it, she hated how Takuya was by himself right now, how he wasn't here with her to consummate their marriage but instead he was somewhere along the north walls of the city defending it from the Romans. For all she knew, her beloved husband could have already been killed or injured. She was angry, not at the Romans that had attack, gathered they were at the root of the problem but rather she was angry at Takuya for instantly leaving her at the alter and running to help defend the city from their foreign invaders. She knew she was selfish, she wanted Takuya all for herself but she knew he was their best chance at defeating the blasphemous Romans. Although half the city laid in ruins, the main defensive walls of the city still stood tall, allowing the city's military force to maintain its defence and allowing the city's most Noble houses to lay some damage to Roman forces with their Digimon. She wished she was at the front lines fighting with Takuya but being a lady of Noble decent prevented her from helping her fellow nobleman.

She was now more worried about what tomorrow would bring. The rumours of the Roman's massive force that took Bologna was not seen from what little information she could get out of her father, only about ten thousand foot soldiers with a dozen or so of the rumoured siege machines which turned out to be little more then oversized cannons. She was quite confused as to how the Romans were able to take Bologna with such little force, of course Bologna wasn't as well protected as Venice but it should have had more then enough forces to squash the little army of the Romans. She was confident that Venice would not fall and that the Romans merely surprised the city today and victory was as good as theirs. But in the back of her mind, she could not shake the feeling of dread.

The rumoured genius, the Golden Lion was not with the Roman forces today. Did that mean he was on his way with more forces, what of his genius that had led him to taking half of the Republic for his own. Izumi knew the rumoured Golden Lion was a dangerous man and she dearly hoped that her Takuya would not come face to face with the devil.

What did finally put her mind at peace was the knowledge that allies of the Prince was gathering their own forces from Royal and the Empire to help the Republic fight the Romans should they become a bigger danger than they were at the moment. Lady Sora of Windsor, whom she had met at the Prince's ball had gone back to her homeland of the Empire to rally their government to support the defence of the city. Her counterpart, the Prince of Orange had also promised reinforcements to help defend the city but had wanted to stay within the city to help with it's defences. The Prince on the other hand, did not want to involve the Prince of Orange as the Romans were a Republic problem and he did not wish to drag their allies into a little problem. For the most part, most of the Republic saw Roma as the back water on the fringe of the Republic's south boarders that posed little threat to the Republic. That was the case until only a few months ago when rumours began to surface of the little progress the Roman's were making along the south boarder.

Izumi continued to gaze out at the sky, wishing upon the stars to keep Takuya safe and for a future in which they could share together.

"Izumi dear, come inside. You'll catch a cold if you stay there any longer, there is nothing to be worried about, Roma does not stand a chance against our army." She knew her mother was lying, she could tell from her wavering voice. Her mother was worried, nothing like this had ever happened to the Republic. It was well known they stayed neutral during wars, even when the Empire and Royal had gone to war, there was little the Republic pledge to either sides. There was fear of what would happen if Royal had indeed fallen but war was never on the minds of the Republic.

"Mother." Izumi replied softly, "Do not worry, Takuya will protect us." She did not look towards her mother when she replied, she was still concentrating on the sky, deeply hoping Takuya would send word of his safety some time soon.

"I do not know why you are so fascinated with the Capulet boy. May Yggdrasil be gracious and have the boy killed along with the rest of those Roma dogs!"

"Mother!" She was surprise her mother had such ill intent with her secret husband. However, she could not fully show her anger at her mother as it would raise questions. "Please mother, do not speak such ill about Lord Capulet's son, he may be the only hope we have. The people will come to love him if he does indeed defeat the Romans. We do not what the people to look ill on the House of Montague now do we?"

Her mother took a step back, "Come Izumi, it is well past your curfew. We will need to hurry your wedding preparations, I am sure Sir Teppei would love for the marriage to take place as soon as possible." Izumi managed to hide her smirk but she was also worried her plan to run away with Takuya was going to fail. There was still time for them to do so, however it was unlikely Takuya would agree if the war were to drag on. She hoped it would come to an end in a matter of days so that she and Takuya would have enough time to get away before anyone realized they did so in the middle of the their victory celebration.

For now, all she could do was to act like a good little noble lady coming of age and hope for the best.

**O O O**

His nose burned with an awful smell, something so vulgar any regular person would have fainted from it alone. However, Takuya was not a regular person but he was also not extraordinary either, rather it had been over twelve hours by his count since the burning in his nose began. The smell was unbearable at first however now he was used to the smell of burning flesh all around him. Takuya was hunkering down behind one of the city's main defensive walls, a massive four story high wall which so far had taken the blunt of the Roman's canon fire. However, Roman's objective was not to bring down the wall, they were aiming to destroy the city itself. They had managed to fire some of their canons over the wall and was able to destroy half the city without even bothering with the city's military. Houses, markets, schools, all on fire. Those who had once occupied the buildings had found safety within the inner city, protected by the sea itself where the canons couldn't reach and those who remained were all dead and on fire, their ashes burning in those who were sent to defend the walls.

The dead Venetians weren't the only ones that were currently filling Takuya's nose. The same was to be said about the other side, the Romans had lost many on their front. With the help of KaiserGreymon and the city's other Digimon, they had killed off the majority of the Roman forces and thanks to their Digimon, many of the canons had been destroyed. Although much of the fighting had temporary stopped and the battle field quiet, Takuya could not figure out why he had an overwhelming feeling of dread crawling underneath his skin. Maybe it was the lack of sighting the so called Golden Lion, the mysterious stranger that had become a legend amongst the people he conquered. It felt as if this battle was too simple, to easy for the Venetians to win, as if the Romans were merely testing them.

He was also worried about Izumi. He had yet to process what had gone on the day before, he felt as though their marriage had been a dream, in fact he was almost certain it had been a dream. And she had even asked him to run away with her, run away to Royal. It wasn't as if he did not want to run away with the love of his life but he felt he was still too young for that. To be married at such a young age may have been common with young girls at the prime of their beauty, it was unspeakable for a boy such as himself to be married at this age. Usually he would have been in his twenties before he had a thought about marriage, and even then it would never been with a lady the same age as himself, those were seen as tainted and only virgins would make good wives. Plus, Takuya had dreams. Venice was too much of a sleepy town for it to keep him at bay, he had planned to travel for a few years before returning and settling down as the head of his house. He had thought about studying in one of the many schools in Royal and the Empire, heck even exploring the New World seemed better than Venice. He had even gotten an invitation to Saint Germain in the south of Royal for the start of the next school term last winter, claiming that he was welcome to the school so long as he completed his summoning.

The summoning of a mega level Digimon was an unforeseen set back for Takuya. Although he was from an influential family, he was never someone who was so stuck up about what level one's Digimon was. We would have been happy with any Digimon, sure something of a low level like a rookie would have brought shame to his family but he was never someone to care about that. Plus, this was the Republic, not a place like Royal and the Empire where level and rank mattered to your social status. The Republic was much more laid back but high level Digimon still brought a little prestige, like a valuable vase or statue would.

Snapping backing from his thoughts, he felt the ground around him starting to shake. Earthquakes were uncommon for this region of the Republic but not impossible. What did matter was that chaos around him, soldier running back and forth and other like him clueless as to what was going on.

"Get everyone ready! Roman's have been spotted!" The command came from one of the uniformed soldiers. Venice, having not been in many conflicts in the past lacked a formal military. Those who were in uniforms were merely a small force of soldiers the city employed to keep the peace and protect the rich. They were ill trained and ill equipped to fight a war, the soldiers were merely given a standard sabre and some of the higher ups had pistols, more then enough to keep the streets of Venice safe but not enough to fight a war. Takuya himself did not own an uniform, having never been part of the military in the first place, he was simply wearing one of his everyday white shirts that was now stained in dirt and blood. He was given one of the standard rifles, enough to defend himself but not much else.

Putting two and two together, Takuya realized that the earthquake he had felt must have been the Roman's marching towards the city. Not having to be told twice, Takuya quickly made his way to the top of the wall to gain a birds eye view of the approaching forces. What he saw frightened him, unlike the day before were there were only a couple of hundreds of Romans, today was vastly different. From as far as he could see, Romans lined in formations, probably twenty-five to thirty-five for each legion. What was once green grass lining the fields and rolling hills of the Venetian farm lands were now covered by Roman soldiers, each bound by their brass armour, each holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. Although Takuya knew the Roman's weapons were no match for modern guns and sabres, they had already gone through much of the Republic and could not be taken lightly.

The skies that were once blue were now blackened by the hundred of airships blocking out the sun. Again, Takuya was shocked at this. The Roman's were know for their conservatism, having been still using spears and shields in this age of modern warfare was a testament to that. However, airships were a modern invention, having been only used in war just recently but what was more worrying was the fact that the Romans were able to built so many in such a short amount of time. On the other hand, Venice had no airships, again there was never a use for such devices in Venice, only the occasional travel between Venice and far away cities and that only began a few years ago. Takuya concluded that it must have been the Golden Lion's doing.

He readied himself against the wall and screamed for his Digimon. Then, all hell broke lose.

* * *

Notes:  
Remember to follow me on twitter tsubasa1 for my lastest rants on all things Digimon and Pokemon. Sometimes politics if I'm in the mood.


	31. Book 3 Chapter 6

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 6: A Dance with War**

Crying. Blood. Hunger. Izumi couldn't take any more of it, the sounds of people dying, the sounds of people going hungry, the uselessness she felt. Izumi was on the verge of crying, on the verge of going insane. People were dying, she didn't know if her Takuya was safe or not and it was killing her. What was suppose to her honeymoon, what was to be her ability spend the day in bed with her beloved Takuya was all taken away by those Roman dogs. Instead, all she could hear, all she could see, all she could smell was death and the dying. The Montague villa was located in the southern district of the outside city, where most of the rich and famous lived. This area was also one of the safest places to be during an attack from an outside force and this area was now the place where the entire city had rushed to for their safety.

Those who otherwise would be going about their normal everyday lives were now reduced to constantly begging for food outside the homes of those who had food. Shop owners, bakers, housewives, children, all had lost everything they had, all had lost their homes and all they had were the clothes they were wearing. Many were now reduced to rags and some even went nude. Izumi thanked Yggdrasil that it was not the middle of winter and that the hot summer days allowed those who had nothing to move comfortably during these rough times.

The usually large and quiet district that housed Izumi's family and other noble houses now seemed tiny as endless moans could be heard. Izumi wanted to leave the villa and help those who were in need. She wanted to take all the food that were stored in the basement and give it to the children that were dying. It seemed so easy but she knew she could not do so. She was only one person and there were thousands of those who needed food. The other nobles were all turning a blind eye to them and that was killing Izumi to see her fellow nobles treat these people as less than animals.

Her own mother was the worst, someone who she had looked up to all her life, someone who she loved dearly. Her mother had changed, from the kind woman who had loved everything around her, was now a different woman. Izumi feared that she too would easily change from caring about other to only herself. Her mother was disgusted with those who were left homeless, she did not feel an sympathy. A beggar had managed to get through the front gate that morning and was begging for any scraps they may have. Her mother had simply shut the door on the man and had sent for the royal guards, those that were not fighting with the military but who's task was to keep an eye on the prince, to arrest the man. She then announced to the rest of those knocking on the gate, with a voice that had once sung to Izumi every night was now full of hatred and fear, that she would have anyone who dared to come to their villa arrested for attempt to harm a noble family.

Izumi could only watch helplessly as the beggar was taken away, probably to rot in the dungeons if he did not die first once the Romans got to the city. Izumi mentally punched herself for thinking of such an outcome. She knew very well that Takuya could easily defend the city himself and that she should not worried so much. But she could not help herself, she could not remember a time where they had been away from each other this long; ever since she could remember, Takuya and herself would interact with each other daily, usually it would be Takuya playing around and insulting her and herself coming back with a witty comeback or a punch to the face on a good day. She smiled at the memories, she knew her younger self would not be happy if she found out she would end up marrying her mortal enemy.

"Izumi!" Her mother's stern voice woke her from her memories of Takuya, "Izumi, what is wrong with you these days? Constantly having your head in the clouds." Her mother was constantly complaining to her about her day dream lately, Izumi feared that her mother would sooner or later catch on to her relationship with the Capulet boy.

"I'm sorry mother, its just that I can not help but feel sorry for those who are suffering." It was true that she was worrying about the city but she could not tell her mother that she was thinking about her beloved husband.

"If it is Yggdrasil's will that these people suffer, so let it be. Yggdrasil has honoured our family with wealth, those without it should know their place." Izumi was shocked to hear her mother say such a thing. Izumi had always been taught that Yggdrasil was a forgiving god, never would he allow such a thing to happen to people who did not deserve so.

"Mother! Lord Yggdrasil is a kind and loving ruler, he would never let those less fortunate to suffer like this. We are no better than those Roman's if we think Lord Yggdrasil is nothing less but a judge hand picking those who worship him..." She was knocked down, her right cheek stinging with red with the handprint of her mother's hand.

"Do not speak to me as if I am a Roman dog, Lord Yggdrasil has granted our family with wealth because we deserve it, those who are outside begging are no better, divine punishment for their sins." She mother glared at her, Izumi only starred at her, unable to find her voice. "Come Izumi, Lord Teppei has asked that the marriage be held tonight. We will leave this wretched city for Lord Teppei's grand villa in the islands in the morning once you have consummated your marriage. Do not disappoint me Izumi, you will make a fine wife and bring us a healthy grandson."

Izumi tried to reply. Tried to find an excuse but she had yet to find her missing voice.

"Do not waste anymore time, your dress has been picked for you, we will do the fitting in a few minutes. Its best you gather yourself and make yourself decent so that Lord Teppei can savour you tonight." With that, her mother left, leaving Izumi to her thoughts. Outside of her window, there was still moaning, there was still hunger, and there was still death but now Izumi could not hear any noise, she was simply too shocked to have moved.

**O O O**

Another explosion, another dozen men dead. Even though they were the enemy, Takuya still felt the sting of their blood on his hands. He never imagined for the a second in his life that he would ever be called into battle. The Republic was always a peaceful place, even though they had Rome as their southern neighbours, war was never something that he thought both nations were capable of. Before the name Golden Lion had ever appeared, Roma was a peaceful nation, even though they loath the rest of the world and tried to preach their religion on the citizens of the world, they had never once attacked. Then only a few months ago, the name, the Golden Lion started to appear in small chit chat and now Takuya blamed the man for everything that had happened.

And another explosion, now more died at the hands of his Digimon but it did not come without a cost. He had finally saw the power of the Roman war machine, finally saw how they were able to defeat so many capable cities of the Republic. Black metal. He had heard stories of it from travellers, a mythical substance that is said to be the bases for all Digimon armour but to obtain it in this the physical world was impossible. It went by another name which he had just learnt: Chromedigizoid. It was when KaiserGreymon was first hit with the black metal when realization fell upon his Digimon.

_"KaiserGreymon, we have got to stop those airships from getting past the city walls!" Takuya cried to his Digimon desperately as it was currently beyond the wall fighting off the advance troops the Romans had sent to bring down the cities wall. Takuya knew it would be hard for his Digimon to hear him with all the chaos that was going around the both of them. But his Digimon had heard, a power Takuya guessed was a connection between master and Digimon. Acknowledging his master, KaiserGreymon gave a nod and jumped up towards the skies and towards the closest airship._

_With a swing of his mighty sword, KaiserGreymon easily brought the first ship sinking into the ground below. However in their moment of triumph, both Takuya and KaiserGreymon failed to notice the other airships heading towards them. And without warning, they fired upon KaiserGreymon, large black metal balls flying towards the armoured Digimon._

_Having not enough time to react and dodge the canon balls, the first one slammed into the Digimon's right shoulder, taking along part of the Digimon's armour. Then another made contact, this time hitting his Digimon square in the chest and bringing the Digimon from the skies to the ground. Luckily for Takuya, his Digimon was able to control his fall and made it back being the wall of the city where Takuya could get a better grip of the situation._

_"Master Takuya." His Digimon started, getting to his feet with his mighty sword in hand as support, one knew still on the ground. "The enemy has access to Chromedigizoid." KaiserGreymon calmly stated as if it was not a big deal._

_"Chromedigizoid?" Takuya asked stupidly._

_"The Black Metal. The very same metal that makes up my armour young master." His Digimon replied, finally standing on both his feet and ready for more action. _

_"But that's impossible. Black Metal is not something that can be found in this existence. How is that Roma has weapons made of this?" Again Takuya asked stupidly but in his mind he already knew the answer. It was the Golden Lion, the so called genius that conquered most of the Republic. _

_"I do not know master but now that we know they have it, they will not surprise us again." With that, his Digimon took off towards the skies again, this time readily dodging the incoming shots and cutting those he could not dodge. It was apparent that even with the black metal, the Roman's were still no match for his mega level Digimon._

"KaiserGreymon! To your left, two more Roman airships coming your way!" His Digimon again gave a nod and seconds later the two ships were sinking towards the cold hard ground. They had left the protection of the city's wall and now were advancing towards north of the city where a dozen or so olive trees laid with light fog that made it hard to tell where the enemies were. Having destroy the ships that were in view, his Digimon quickly returned to his side as Takuya was only equipped with a rifle and had lost sight of the other soldiers.

Trying to find their bearings, if it was as Yggdrasil gave them divine hope, the fog partially lifted and not two hundred yards in front of Takuya stood a man clad in gold.

Just has his name described him, the Golden Lion had armour like those of medieval Empire knights from stories of Takuya's childhood. Golden armoured leggings, golden armour covered his arms, and a golden breast plate with indentations of a cross signifying his alliance to Roma. And above all that, a golden mask covered his eyes to his hair line and his hair, wild chestnut colour, the same as Takuya himself but much longer and very lion like. There was no doubt, this was the Golden Lion.

"KaiserGreymon!" Takuya shouted. Without needing anymore instructions, KaiserGreymon flew towards the gold clad genius, only to be met with a smirk.

* * *

Notes:  
Yes, the Golden Lion is based off of Gilgamesh from Fate.

I love how I write a little one-shot called _Quartz are a Girl's Best Friend_ on what I think happened to Nene in Digimon Hunters and the episode after they finally decided to tell us all Nene is in Hong Kong becoming an idol. Maybe if I wrote one on Kiriha, no never mind.


	32. Book 3 Chapter 7

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 7: The Winds of Victory**

She was beautiful, her reflection in the mirror showed just how perfect she was but instead she at her new the dress as a disgusting piece of bondage that tied her fate with an even more disgusting man. It was not as though she had met with Teppei, marriage contracts were done through her father, but she knew Teppei would be nothing like her Takuya. She still had no idea if Takuya was alive or not, she wanted to stay faithful to the man she married in secret but time was running out and she had little in terms of escape. In fact, it was almost impossible to escape with the dozen or so handmaidens that had currently surrounded her.

With the fear that the city would fall in a matter of days, the Prince and his cousin had decided to speed up the wedding. The ceremony had been planned for tonight. Izumi felt it being ironic that she would had gone through two marriages in two days. She desperately wanted to find a way to escape, to write a letter hoping that it would find Takuya before the day was done.

She was currently being fitted for her wedding dress; it was a beautiful dress, fitting her perfectly and making her look as though she was herself a goddess. The dress was a present from the Prince himself to his cousin's new bride, the dress Izumi could tell, must have cost a large sum of money. He had probably spent a fortune to have it ready in such a short amount of time, seeing as though it had been less than two days since the contract was agreed upon. However in these last two days, Izumi had felt as though she lived an eternity, having a fight in public with Takuya, an magical night with the same boy, their short lived marriage and what seemed like more than a life time apart.

The dress was beautiful, it hugged her figure, making her slim and elegant. It was a strapless dress, accentuating her breast, no doubt to satisfy the hunger of her future husband to be. The dress would shimmer pink when sun light hit it but was white to the naked eye. She wished Takuya could have seen this dress or allow him to fest on her instead of the man who she was to marry.

"You look lovely my princess." Her parents had entered her room and quickly had the maids leave so that they would have some privacy. Izumi was not looking forward to his moment, as it meant there was no going back. Her father had a large smile on his face and her mother had her head held high, probably feeling as if she rule the world.

"Father!" Izumi exclaimed, "Is it wise to have this wedding when we should be fighting the Romans?" Her father stood back for a moment, shocked that his daughter would have asked such a question.

"Izumi, a lady's place is not to question the decisions of men. You do not need to be worried about the war. Instead worry about how you will show your love for Sir Teppei." Her father replied, looking lovingly at his daughter who was mere hours away from being a women.

"But father! Cousin Junpei is fighting the Romans, I am deathly worried about his safetly." Her father looked her, she knew he could not deny her request especially when her father did not want to upset the girl on her wedding night.

With a loud and long sigh, her father replied, "To be honest with you my dear, Venice will fall within a few days. I have already order Junpei to retreat by tomorrow morning and escape to the north. We are hurrying your wedding because it will able us to be moved to Sir Teppei's manor he has recently bought in Royal. We should be safe there."

"But what of the people?"

"Who knows, the Romans may murder them all or allow them to live peacefully." Her father replied, Izumi however was taken back to the lax nature her father had as he spoke about this piece of news. She felt guilty that she would find safety because she was born to a noble family and the people who were suffering the most would likely all die.

"Izumi." Her father soothed, "Do not worry, thousands of lives may die but as long as we are safe it is all that matters. Come now, Sir Teppei is already waiting at the church. We shall be leaving soon."

"Please father...mother, give me a few moments to gather myself."

"Yes yes Izumi. Come dear, let us leave Izumi to her own devices." Her mother had finally spoke, grabbing her father's arms a leading him out of Izumi's room.

She knew she was running out of time, not for herself, she had already knew her fate was sealed. No, she had to contact Takuya to warn him of what the nobles of the city had intended. Hurriedly grabbing a piece of paper and finding herself a pen and ink, she quickly wrote a letter to her beloved Takuya for the final time.

_Dear Takuya,_

_I do not know if you are still alive but I pray to Lord Yggdrasil that you are fine. I do not know how much time I have but Teppei has ordered our marriage by tonight. By the time this gets to you, I will already have consummated our marriage, something I wished I had shared with you. I have horrifying news from my father, he says the city will fall and most noble families have planned to escape while the people suffer. I wish you would also run but knowing yourself, you will stay to fight until the very last breath._

_Please do not die, even though we may never see each other again, I will always love you, I will never love anyone else, not the Prince, not Teppei, not anyone else. I love you, forever._

_Your lovely wife,  
__Izumi da Capulet_

She folded her letter and made her way to her window. In a hushed voice she called, "Zephyrmon." Within seconds, the beating of Zephyrmon's wings was heard and she appeared outside of Izumi's win.

"What is it my lady?"

"Please, take this to Takuya."

However, before she could give her letter to her Digimon, her mother's voice rang out "Izumi! What is the meaning this? Are you speaking with that Capulet bastard?" Izumi quickly shoved the letter into her Digimon and non verbally told her Digimon to quickly leave.

"I had heard everything Izumi. I cannot believe my own flesh and blood would be talking to the enemy. Have we not given you everything you have ever needed and yet you still talk to those who are no better than dogs!"

For the first time in a long while, Izumi finally gave to her urges and let fresh tears drop from her crystal eyes.

**O O O**

Takuya could not believe what he was seeing. It defied what was, it defied the basics of normality, and it defied the will of Yggdrasil. A mere simple human was able to hold off an attack from a Digimon. Not any Digimon either but a mega level one at that. What was more impossible, this act of supernatural was created with one simple wave of the hand. KaiserGreymon, with all his might was pushing his sword towards the Golden Lion, but was simply stopped by an unseen force, leaving him frozen to the will of the Roman.

"How quint." The Golden Lion spoke, his voice was not deep as Takuya had imagined it. It sounded as though the Golden Lion was no less than eighteen or nineteen, still a child like Takuya himself. "Did you really think a mere Digimon could stop me?" His voiced was aimed at Takuya.

"How? How is it possible?" Takuya asked.

Again the Golden Lion smirked, "Since it seems you are the only one on the battlefield and as Yggdrasil has decided you were worth his efforts." Takuya was confused, the Golden Lion was speaking of Yggdrasil, a belief that many Romans held was that Yggdrasil was just another idol worship. So why was the Golden Lion talking about Yggdrasil as if he had been practicing the Yggdrasil religion. "I see you are confused. why am I talking to Yggdrasil? Simple really." Reaching behind himself, the Golden Lion took out a small piece of coloured paper from what Takuya could see. "This is how." With that Takuya recognized the item to be a card, similar to those he had seen on the streets of Venice, usually to tell the future of a customer.

"This you see, is a Digimon Card."

"A Digimon card?" Takuya asked confusingly.

"Yes a rare gift from Yggdrasil himself. You see it allows me to be protected from a Digimon's attack."

"From Yggdrasil himself? How is that possible, you Romans do not believe in Yggdrasil let alone communicate with him." Takuya demanded as he prepared his Digimon for another strike at the enemy.

"You can say that I am not a Roman, merely someone who has great power to change the world and those greedy Romans could not resist when I promised them victory. Rather, you can say I am an agent of Yggdrasil, doing what he intends of this world."

"What he intends?" Takuya asked dumbfounded.

"Yggdrasil finds us humans to be boring, a little chaos was needed." Again the Golden Lion replied with a smirk followed by a small chuckle. "You see, the god you so idolize once saw us humans as useless but now he is much interested in what makes us human. War; it allows for him to study us humans."

"What are you talking about? Lord Yggdrasil is loving, that is why he created us, why he created the Digimon." The Golden Lion merely started to laugh at Takuya.

"You are foolish to think Yggdrasil was almighty. In a way, he is but he is also not."

"I don't care what you Roman dogs think of Lord Yggdrasil, but you are foolish to question his power. I'll show you. I'll show you what Lord Yggdrasil is capable of! KaiserGreymon!" Once again Takuya's Digimon flew towards the Golden Lion and once again he was stop by an invisible force.

"No, it is you who must understand the power of Yggdrasil." With that, the Golden Lion used his invisible force to push Takuya's Digimon back. He then reached for his pouches attached to the back of his armour, covered by his large crimson cape. What he pulled out was unlike anything Takuya had seen before. A small, golden box that was glowing a bright light and pulsed with warmth, similar to how it felt on a nice summer day. "Agumon, Realize!"

The light from the Golden Lion's box glowed outwards before taking shape of a small Digimon Takuya recognized as the rookie level, Agumon.

"You will come to see the true power of Yggdrasil! Agumon!" The Golden Lion called towards his Digimon. With a wave his hand, the Golden Lion's hand too began to glow with the same light as the box he was holding.

"Digisoul Charge, OVERDRIVE!"

"Agumon shinka!"

Takuya stood in awe of the Digimon that stood before him. His mind was blank, his reality was shattered, everything he knew about Digimon was now mistakes. The Digimon before him was not the tiny orange dragon that was Agumon, but instead a large Digimon, nearly the same size as his KaiserGreymon albeit smaller, clad in orange armour similar to that of the Golden Lion. It held a mighty sword, just like the one his KaiserGreymon held.

Takuya could only whisper in shock, while the Digimon and his master shouted his name, "VictoryGreymon!"


	33. Book 3 Chapter 8

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 8: A Dream of Mid-Summer**

"Takuya!" She whispered into the darkness but her pleas were met with silence. "Takuya!" She repeated his name over and over again but there was no reply, she knew she was alone. "Takuya, do you see how beautiful she is? How beautiful our daughter is." She laid in bed, her arms stretched out towards the ceiling of the room, making a gesture as if she was holding a little child in her arms, a child in which she was trying to hand off to her husband. However, neither of them existed except in her mind. Although they were not real, she could touch them, smell them, hear them, they were real to her. Her eyes were burning, tears fell from them, sweat had gotten into them.

She left her bed in which she was currently occupied in, she help herself and continue to cry. She was not alone in this bed though but the other occupant did not wake from her crying, he was probably too tired after what he had done to her. She could still feel it, him touching her, tasting her, and eating her. She was nothing more than a fine expensive wine to him, she did not feel love from this man, only emptiness. Even though he took her innocence, even though she enjoyed the night of pleasure, and even though he now owned her, Izumi was still loyal and still very much in love with the boy she had grown up hating.

She felt dirty, she felt blood on her, and worst of all, she felt him on her. This touch lingered, his saliva all over her, and his seeds inside of her. She wanted to take a bath so that she could wash away what he had left on, in her. Izumi felt disgusting but it was the middle of the night, no servants were awake to draw her a bath but she had to do something, to do anything to get him off of her.

She continued to stalk the room slowly, she had no destination in mind, she merely wanted to get any trace of _him_ off of her.

"Mommy loves you very much dear, so does your daddy." She whispered to the young girl that was before her, she was beautiful. Hair golden like her self, but the little girl's eyes reminded her so much Takuya.

"Takuya! Don't give her that, you'll ruin her apatite!" She screamed at the man. He was dressed handsomely, truly cloths fit for a young duke.

"Come on dear, you don't want to be late for your first day of lessons do you? Daddy promises to take you to see the sunflowers at grandma's villa. And I'll make your favourite for dinner tonight." She smiled at the girl.

Izumi held the girl tightly, never wanting to go. She was a piece of Takuya and herself, something they created through the love they had for one another.

"Mommy." The girl said. Izumi tearful eyes opened at the shock of hearing the young girl. But what greeted her was not the beautiful angel that was her daughter, but a fearful girl that did not have her golden locks , a girl who's eyes were so dark one could say that it was empty, an hateful devil that was her reality.

"Who..who are you?" Izumi asked frantically.

"Mommy." The girls face did not change but her voice was sweet as her angel.

"No! Stay away!" Izumi called out as she tried to scurry away from this being. She was then stopped by a chair, it had _his_ clothing sitting on it, messily thrown on to it when _he_ was in a hurry to taste her. And she felt it all over again, his hands on her body, his tongue tasting her, and worst of all, the pleasure of when he entered her. The girl was still there, starring at her, a cruel smile on her face. Izumi reached for a weapon, she found his sabre.

She reached out to the girl, cupping the girls face with her left hand. "Mommy loves you honey. Daddy will always love you too. We will always be together, never forget that." She whispered as she hugged the girl one last time.

She took _his_ sabre, moonlight shining on to it. And closing her eyes, she took one last breath.

**O O O**

His Digimon was beaten. He was beaten. His breaths were heavy, blood rushing down his face from newly open cuts. He was tired, his legs refused to work now, but he could not give up. Giving up meant dying, giving up meant never seeing Izumi again. Yet his hopes were up, he could not see how he would live through this, only if Lord Yggdrasil brought him a miracle.

The man responsible for Takuya's defeat came closer to him, his armour shinning with the moonlight. A smirk on his face and his mask haven taken no wear for the worst, still hid his face.

"I praise you young Takuya, you are the first to have taken me this long to defeat. Usually you nobles are so boring, so useless, but you young Takuya, have taken me more than a day to beat." His voice cruel, highlighting the truth. It had been more than half a day since their encounter. Their Digimon had fought to a standstill, but after awhile, it was the Roman's Digimon that had became victorious. Now Takuya had been left Digimon-less, KaiserGreymon having been sent back to the great beyond, pieces of his once great dragon armour was littered around them, still reflecting pieces of the moonlight.

"What a shame Yggdrasil has found no more use for you."

"Shut up, what do you know about the greatness of Lord Yggdrasil!" Takuya screamed back at him.

"More than you know. More than you know." The Golden Lion repeated in a whisper but loud enough for Takuya to hear.

"Who...who exactly are you?" Takuya questioned, it had been on his mind all day but having received no solid answers.

"And with the turbulent destruction after the wave. Only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives The Rebirth." Again Takuya had gotten an answer he did not understand. "Simply call me The Rebirth." the Golden Lion replied as if he was reading Takuya's mind.

"The Rebirth?" Takuya asked, the man simply nodded without giving anymore details.

"What a curious thing the human mind is. So easily broken because they have no control of their fate. It seems your beloved, The Prophet has taken her own life."

"My beloved? The Prophet? What are you talking about..." Before Takuya could speak another word, realization hit him, blood escaping from his face as he turned white as a ghost, "What have you done! What have you done to Izumi?"

"Such wonderful creatures humans are don't you agree? It is no wonder you see fit to pit us against each other." At first Takuya had thought the Golden Lion was speaking towards himself but Takuya later realized the Rebirth was speaking to himself, to someone that was not visible to Takuya.

"It is no wonder your last endeavour failed, you simply did not understand us." The Rebirth continued, oblivious to Takuya who was whimpering below him in pain.

"Of course I do not feel as though I am a traitor. It is humans who have betrayed me and it will be I who create what you are seeking. The perfect world will soon be upon us, and we, the cursed waves shall create the perfect world you have envisioned.

"What are you going on about!" Takuya had finally screamed, he was not sure if he was going insane or if it was the Golden Lion that was the one who was insane. The Golden Lion simply smiled towards Takuya

"It seems the god you have worshiped all you life has now abandoned you, young warrior of fire. Perhaps in another world, in another time we may have been allies fighting your god. I am truly sorry."

"What are you talking about? Yggdrasil has not abandoned me, he will always be with me, watching over us, protecting us from slime like you!" Takuya yelled.

Again the Golden Lion laughed, "And what if I told you it was Yggdrasil himself who has lead me to you, it was Yggdrasil who killed your beloved Prophet, and it is Yggdrasil himself who will take your life."

"Yggdrasil is kind. If he wishes it, then it is indeed my time to go and it is indeed Izumi's time to go, but Yggdrasil will never let you, the evil of this world win in the end. Yggdrasil is just."

"Perhaps but Yggdrasil will not stop me, that is where you are wrong." With that, the Golden Lion took out his sword, a long thing blade with an ornate golden basket hilt, the moon light made it sparkle, the light reflecting into Takuya's eyes. "You are the first to witness the founding of GRAND, the Great Roman Allied Nations of Divinity. You, Takuya di Capulet, are the last one standing in our way of peace and for that you must be removed. Requiescat in pace."

* * *

Notes:  
Do take note that the rating has been changed to M, reflecting on the scenes of this chapter and future chapters.


	34. Book 3 Chapter 9

******Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 9: Exile**

Sora of Windsor was usually a patient young lady, however making a lady wait for well over an hour was not something she was accustomed to. Added to the unusually warm day, most of the labours working the ship yard were topless, again something that she was not familiar to and found it quite indecent. However, she wished she was in a similar position as though she wanted too to be free of clothing in this hot weather. She was currently waiting for her ship, one that she had chartered a week ago by sending a letter home to her mother via the newly installed postal airships that were now flying all over the Empire and Royal. Sora had specifically told her mother to charter a ship to wait for her at the Royal port city of Nice, where she had stayed in one of Yamato's many manors throughout Royal after her return from the Republic.

Sora was worried for the little Republic, having escape the on coming Roman advances in order to return home and appeal to the King's court about helping the little country against the Roman threat. She had not heard any news from the region in the past couple of days and sincerely hope that they had held their own against the Roman war machine. She enjoyed her little trip to the country before danger fell upon them, she still remember the little flirt named Takuya and how she was able to play cupid with the him and the Montague girl. Although the two did not know it, she was fascinated with the Capulet boy before handing him of to the next girl during their dance, she had spied on them all night after their little dance and found that they had know each all along and possibly be in love with one another. She smiled inwardly at the memories of the two formal rivals and she too longed to fall in love with someone, however years of living without her father had put distrust in her and any men who wished to court her in the future must prove to her that he would not betray her.

Yamato or the Prince of Orange was one such person, but she did not feel the immediate heart burning sensation she had read about on the subject of love. And therefore, she had told herself that she was not in love with the prince but their friendship was very much an important one. She hoped that they would once again meet in the near future, Yamato was someone who matched her passion for peace and his mind was highly educated which allowed them to understand one another's positions.

Becoming more and more impatient, Sora began to tap her feet. She thanked who ever made this dress of hers that it was long enough to cover her gesture as passer by would have thought her to be unladylike. Sighing again for the ninth time that morning, Sora failed to notice the large carriage coming towards her from the heart of the town.

"Sora!" A familiar voice called to her. Sora had stopped starring at the sea once she figured out who the voice belonged to.

"Mother!" She replied in shock, "What are you doing here? Is everything back in the homeland okay?"

Although her mother was the one who raised her without the help of her father, Sora was never that close to her mother. It all started when she had become of age, her mother wanted her to be nothing but a doll so that she could be sold off and the Windsor line to gain back some credibility. Sora however wanted none of that and blew off her mother, becoming the politician she was today. They had not been on much of a speaking term lately because of her strong nature, so Sora was more then surprised to see her mother greet her in Royal of all places.

"Sora, I bring grave news. The Empire...the Empire has fallen." Her mother rushed to her, tears streaming from her aged eyes.

"Mother, this is no time to joke."

"I am not joking Sora. The Empire has fallen, taken by the Governor of Manchester and a Frenchman of all people installed as the new Prime Minister. The King...Cody has been exiled." Her mother cried.

"Exiled? Is he," Sora staggered, "Is Cody safe? How did this happen?"

"Cody has been exiled to York of the Huronterio colony in the New World." Her mother explained, "It was horrible dear. The Manchesters had raised an army, those loyal to them and with the help of a Frenchman, Jyou de Lyonais I believe his name was. They had taken over the throne and had demanded the King to be sent far away. Thank Yggdrasil your father had sent a letter to have the King transfer to his care."

"Wait!" Sora cried, "Father? Mother what are you talking about? Isn't father still somewhere in Ming?" She questioned. The last she had heard about her father was from travellers and traders who had met her father as they travelled through the eastern kingdom.

"Yes, your father seemed to have known what Manchester was planning and had sent a letter instructing me to have Cody put in his care. The King is travelling to the New World as we speak, he is to be under protection of your father once he arrives in the New World."

"Mother, have you booked a ship as I have requested?"

"Yes, but it's far to dangerous for us to be returning to the Empire, they will hang us for being traitors."

"Good, I'll leave first thing in the morning."

"Dear, did you not hear me?" Her mother asked with a worrisom expersion.

"Who said anything about sailing to the Empire. Father and Cody are both in the New World, I think it is time I pay them both a visit." Sora exclaimed before leaving her mother stuck to where she stood, in shock.

* * *

__Notes:  
For anyone who doesn't know, I've posted a new side-story for Chronicles called Anthology of Le Monde, a collection of one-shots and short stories, of prologues and epilogues.

And here ends the third book. Originally it had nothing to do with Taichi's journey throughout Le Monde but I was too in love with Venice at the time not to included it in a story. The only way I could think of to do so was to use this as an introduction to the major bad guy of the series and things will get much clearer in the next book. The next story, The Heaven's War will only be ten chapters but twice as long as this one.

_Preview Chronicles of Le Monde Book 4: The Heaven's War_

_Taking yet another sip of his morning tea and watching the waves roll in and out, hitting the sand from his large balcony, his Digimon Agumon exited the house to join him._

_"Cough, cough." His Digimon coughed then regained himself after a large breath of air. Taichi frowned, Agumon since last night had developed a cough which raised many questions for Taichi. First of all, was it even possible for Digimon to get sick and with out the help of advanced medicine, Taichi did not know how to help his ailing friend. He guessed it was best to let time take its course and his Digimon would get back to his feet in no time._

_"What have I told you about running around at night in cold weather?" _

_"I'm sorry Taichi but I don't know how it's even possible for Digimon to get sick. I've never been sick before." Agumon replied in a hushed, cracked voice. _

_"It's best you get some rest, you can use my bed. I'll ask the headmaster today if he knows anything about Digimon getting colds." Agumon replied with a simple nod and quickly scampered back into the house and into Taichi's warm bed, leaving Taichi once again to his thoughts._

_"Captain! It seems that Lord Crowle wishes to meet with you." This time it was a human that interrupted him, his first mate Koushiro of Manchester, dressed in a similar fashion now that he was all but apart of the Royal army. _


	35. Book 4 Chapter 1

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 1: Masala Chai**

Taking a sip of his morning tea, dressed in his formal military gear; a crisp white shirt, black pants, a pair of well shined boots, and his green army coat signifying his rank as a Digimon Tamer and by default, his noble upbringing as a Lord in service of the Regions de France Unis Royal. His tea was good today, the chefs had listened to his requests of brewing the new batch in milk instead of the standard water with milk added later, the sweetness of the honey brought out the aromas of the tea leaves. The weather was the best he had experienced as of yet, the sun was not too hot nor was there a large storm like the previous few days he had spent in the city. He was starting to truly enjoy himself, however there was one thing that Tachi Yagami missed, and that was waking up every day with his beautiful wife by his side.

Taking another sip of his tea, letting the warm morning sea breeze hit his face, he thought back to the days they had spent at South Wales. He had grown accustomed to the daily tasks of running a colony, although he could have gone without getting shot at or having to fight a war with the natives. Those days were certainly his favourites and he wished he could simply turn back the clock and relive them once again. He cursed his little sister for taking away his wife; ever since Hikari had found out about the two secrete lovers, she did not allow for him or Mimi to go anywhere near each other. Taichi would be lucky if he had more than an hour time with each other, usually during lunch or dinner. Hikari made it quite clear that they would not be allowed in each others company and especially not in the same bed until they had gone through a real marriage and this had so far left Taichi to waking up without Mimi's loving scent every morning.

They were currently spending a month in the city of Madras, a eastern port town in the country of Indos, modern day India Taichi noted. They had needed somewhere to stop and make repairs to the airships they were travelling on, grand ships made of wood and driven by large balloons and large fish like fins attached to the side of the hauls acting as wind sails. It had seemed the time Taichi was away from the country, the King had decided to put all of the countries resources into building airships, this resulted in an impressive fleet in which was Royal's new war machines. They had travelled in three ships, the biggest of which was a one hundred gun ship, fifty gun canons on each side, separated by two decks and more than two hundred people needed to operate such a massive machine. The ship was dubbed the HMAS Reliant, HMAS Taichi later learnt to stand for His Majesty's AirShip. The ship had carried most of Taichi's party, consisting of himself, Lady Mimi, his sister, Prince Takeru, Prince Ken of Royal, Lady Yolei, and his new installed guards, first mate Koushiro of Manchester, his second mate Davis of Liverpool and finally his third mate, the young Takato.

Two other airships had accompanied them, both thirty gun ships, the HMAS Noble and the HMAS Lyon. Taichi wished he was back on their way to Ming, at least on the ships he had ways to sneak himself and Mimi off to have some private time in one of the many nooks of the large ship. However, luck would have it, during their trip as they were sailing past the southern tip of Indos, they were attacked by the group of wide Seadramon. Although Digimon were summoned into the world, some who had weak masters would often rebel against them and become feral. It so happened that they flew past a group of these Seadramon who haven't eaten in days and thought they were large birds. They shot streams of water at them, damaging the outside haul of the Reliant but they were sooner repelled by the forces of WarGreymon and Gallentmon.

However the damage was done and they had to stop for a month for their large, heavyweight ship to be repaired. Their other travelling companion, the Prince of Ming had gone ahead, in his personal ship which Taichi recall the prince say as a Tiger class, twelve gun ship, built for speed and great for boarding larger ships; the equivalent to an Royal courier ship such as they HMAS Sparrow that had delivered his own sister to his manor in South Wales, a ship that was three times faster then a heavy class like the Reliant. The one major difference between the Ming ships and the Royal ones was that instead of primitive sails using the power of the wind to move their ship forwards, the Ming used large propellors, like those Taichi had once seen on a TV travel program about the American southeast. According to Koushiro, the Ming were know for their technological advances, especially when it came to ships.

Once the ship had been fixed, they were to sail to the capital of Ming, the Imperial city of Beijing. While they were here, Taichi had been given a small manor house by one of the Empire's colonist to live in until repairs were done. Of course, like the history of his world, this world's India suffered a similar fate to the one of his world, the Empire had all but taken power from the ruling imperial family of Indos and monopolized trade. Since Royal and the Empire were currently on speaking terms, it did not pose a big problem between the two sides and furthermore, the man had a previous business dealing with Koushiro in which he owed Koushiro a bunch of favours. The man, Lord Crowle had also opened an all girls academy for wealthy Empire families. Academy for girls, was now a source of problems for Taichi. For one, his wife Lady Mimi de L'Alsace was taken hostage by his very own sister and was currently living at the dorms instead with Taichi. Second of all, it seemed that news of his exploits had made its way to the colony and was now the centre of attention for the student body of the academy. And since Taichi was never officially married, Lord Crowle had since began to insisting Taichi court one of his many daughters. Thankfully, he had always had excuses to get out of such conversations with the help of Koushiro.

Taking yet another sip of his morning tea and watching the waves roll in and out, hitting the sand from his large balcony, his Digimon Agumon exited the house to join him.

"Cough, cough." His Digimon coughed then regained himself after a large breath of air. Taichi frowned, Agumon since last night had developed a cough which raised many questions for Taichi. First of all, was it even possible for Digimon to get sick and with out the help of advanced medicine, Taichi did not know how to help his ailing friend. He guessed it was best to let time take its course and his Digimon would get back to his feet in no time.

"What have I told you about running around at night in cold weather?"

"I'm sorry Taichi but I don't know how it's even possible for Digimon to get sick. I've never been sick before." Agumon replied in a hushed, cracked voice.

"It's best you get some rest, you can use my bed. I'll ask the headmaster today if he knows anything about Digimon getting colds." Agumon replied with a simple nod and quickly scampered back into the house and into Taichi's warm bed, leaving Taichi once again to his thoughts.

"Captain! It seems that Lord Crowle wishes to meet with you." This time it was a human that interrupted him, his first mate Koushiro of Manchester, dressed in a similar fashion now that he was all but apart of the Royal army.

"Thank you Koushiro. I'll be on my way once I finish my tea and head for the market to buy Mimi a present." Taichi replied with a wave of his hand, dismissing his doppelganger friend. No matter how many times Taichi had insisted on call him by his name, the young former Lord never did, always showing respect. Taichi had figured it was because of the time he had stepped im and saved Koushiro. At least their friendship had improved, they were much like their old Odaiba selves when they talked in private, the same was true for Davis. It was weird, he trust them both more than anyone, even Mimi.

"Wait, hold on Koushiro." Taichi called, "Could you tell Mimi to meet me at the usual place. Make sure she's alone, there's no way Hikari will let her meet me." Koushiro saluted in understanding and went about his tasks.

Finishing the last of his tea, Taichi threw on his green army coat and walked back inside to the manor house and then down the stairs to the front door. It was a simple fifteen minute walk to the heart of the market and another twenty to the academy. Once Taichi reached the market, he started scanning for a viable present that Mimi would like. It was the only way to really show his love for her, as any physical touch was met with the cold eyes of his sister.

"Beware, one must not disrupt the balance of harmony which Lord Yggdrasil has created." An old yet very commanding frail voice called out.

Looking around the crowded market place for the source of the voice, Taichi became intrigued about this Yggdrasil he was hearing about lately. Back during his days at Saint Germain, he had never batted an eye towards the subject, it would often come up during his lessons but he only waved his hand at it thinking it was just some fanatic religion he had heard about. Taichi was never the religious type, of course being Japanese he had often had to partake in it practices and folklore, he often visited buddhist temples and Shinto shires during holidays. He even believed in the so called red thread of fate that Mimi and Sora would often bring up when they would have their girl talk but religion never dominated his everyday on goings. Yggdrasil from what Taichi had gathered was some being much like the Christian and Muslim God of his world but was looked upon more as the creator of Digimon than mankind. Although the Empire and Royal both believed in Yggdrasil, Taichi had learned it was more fanatical in eastern countries such as Italia and to some extent Indos.

Having been the governor of South Wales for little over half a year, he had not encountered many who had preached about the subject, seeing as the natives that Taichi had met and fought against, the Nijiri were not a believer of Yggdrasil. The Nijiri, Taichi's mind shifted, had a religion much like Shintoism from Taichi's background, they believed in nature and they believed Digimon were not magical beings but natural containers of souls from their dead ancestors. Taichi also felt a sense of unfinished business now that he had thought back to his time in South Wales, letters from Lady Ruki of Bolton, a feisty red haired daughter of governor Bolton had written to tell him that even though the tusk trade had ended, poachers were everywhere trying to make money from a exotic material that was in high demand.

"Yggdrasil brought us Digimon to work in harmony, not to fight our wars!" Again the voice pierced through the noisy street. Taichi, having followed the source of the voice, finally had his eyes upon an elderly Indos man, skin dark from years of having the sun sun on him. Not wanting to be a disturbance and not wanting to look like an idiot, Taichi moved closer to get in earshot distance of the preacher.

"Let me tell you a story my fellow Indos! A story of harmony, a story of how Yggdrasil brought about peace to our world! Centuries ago, humans fought each other like wild boars, ripping each other to pieces, no reason, it was for the pleasure of blood. Then one day, when the rivers of our land flowed with red blood, when the soil of our land bleed human blood, when the skies of our land rained blood, one day, a sapling appeared on top of a great hill, created by the bodies of the dead. That sapling, over night grew into the great World Tree, Yggdrasil. The Tree, then taught us humans how to summon the Digimon, and we became friends with the Digimon. Together with the Digimon we created peace, we created the world. And now, we humans once again fight amongst ourselves but now we have asked our innocent Digimon friends to become cold hearted killers. Come my friends, let us join hands once again to bring peace back to our lands."

Taichi frowned at this, even though he was not religious, Digimon to him had always been a tool. Agumon was his friend, his best friend even but at the end of the day, they had became partners because the Digital World needed heros, it needed weapons to fight the evil. His world was at peace, the Digital World was at peace, but that did not stop the endless fighting within the worlds. The story of Yggdrasil sounded too good to be true, peace was not something one could obtain if one did not fight for what he believed in. Trying to not think too much on the subject, he snapped himself out of his daze, quickly trying to recover from his oncoming headache.

Once again Taichi scanned the market for a suitable present for Mimi. Back in the real world, he figured he would have gotten her the same thing every teenage guy got for their girlfriends, a cute cellphone strap. However, seeing as though cellphones had not been invented just yet, this endeavour was more problematic. Finally coming upon a stall, which consisted of simply one small table and a mysterious woman dressed in purple and a matching vail covering her head, her eyes covered by the shadow of her vail and on her table, manly trinkets shinning in the summer sun. Putting his hand to his chin, making a pose to make it seem that he was thinking hard about the choices, which in fact he was. Taichi's eyes came upon a silver necklace with a green gem shaped like a tear drop, it reminded him very much of Mimi's crest. Immediately grabbing it, Taichi asked for the price.

"That is a rare gem indeed, it is said to make the wearer's true feelings made known." The lady smiled from what Taichi could see of her mouth, "However, it has been with me for far too long and no one seems to want to buy it. I shall sell it to you for no more than 3 Sterlings."

Quickly grabbing his bag and thankful that he had exchanged his Franks for some Empire Sterling, he paid the lady and left quick to give the present to Mimi, not before remembering his meeting with Lord Crowle. Taichi sighed knowing that the nobleman had more than just a simple conversation on his mind, he used the time that it took him to make his way from the market to the school to prepare himself with one of the lord's many daughters to flung herself at him. He remembered his previous encounters with the lord, he had brought his eldest daughter, a year older than Taichi and currently working as one of the teachers at the academy having just graduated last year. The girl was beautiful, there was no denying that, having shoulder length chestnut hair much like Mimi's but held back by a ponytail and an excellent figure to match. However, Taichi was able to hold back all of her attempts to get closer to him, only just and nearly fainted after their meeting. He had hoped the lord did not bring his oldest daughter again, Lady Beatrix if he remember correctly, had an odd interest in flowers and a wonderful painter from the art that was hung in Lord Crowle's office.

He reach the gate of the school and cursed that is was such a beautiful day as most of the student population had come out to the lawns of the school to socialize and study. He tried to keep and straight face and not to look at any of the students but it felt as though hundreds of hungry, lovelorn eyes were on him. Taichi sighed and cursed the man once again, this time for building his offices at the end of the property, the only way was besides the main building, in full view of the students, a walk that was no less than 5 minutes for even the fastest walkers. He could hear them, they were not being discrete about it what so ever.

"Look! Isn't that the Terror of Death?"

"My, doesn't he look handsome?"

"Oh I can just eat him up!"

"I hear he's courting Lady Beatrix or maybe even her sister Lady Lily. I hear that she is very much in love with him, love at first sight according to Lady Lily herself!"

"Really? What about that Royal girl that he's always with?"

"I hear she's his lover, a commoner girl."

"Do you think he'll take me as his lover too? Oh, how I can please him better than any Royal girl in bed any day!"

Not wanting to hear any more, as his eyelids were now flickering from embarrassment. Taichi stepped up his speed until he was in a full tilt sprint to Lord Crowle's office. The main administration building of the school was small, small compared to the grand scale of the main school building. The office reminded Taichi of his old manor in South Wales, big and grand, filled with expensive decoration and trinkets. Much like many of the buildings in Indos, the two buildings were made from white bricks, done to look like buildings back in the Empire but with little touches to remind everyone that this was Indos and not the Empire. Moreover, much of the building held many windows and many open arches in order for the sea breeze to flow in and out of the rooms so that the students were comfortable under the intense Indos sun.

Having escaped the crazy love laden girls of the Saint George Academy, Taichi stepped into the main hall of the administration building, where one of the Crowle's many servents awaited him. Telling the girl he was here to see Lord Crowle, Taichi was escorted to the Lord's office where he ran the daily on goings of the academy and much of the colony.

"Lord Crowle." The servant girl stepped into the office before Taichi made his entrance, "Captain Taichi of the HMAS Reliant is here to see you Milord." She gestured for Taichi to step up before leaving the two men to their own devices.

"Come in, come in. I hope your commute was not too much trouble captain?" Lord Crowle, a large man in his early fifties, dressed in a simple white shirt and standard Empire issued dark soldier pants asked.

"It was not trouble at all Lord Crowle, it actually gave me time to buy some presents for my sister and Mimi." Taichi replied, holding out the teardrop shaped jewel which he had bought for Mimi.

"Ah yes, the commoner girl you have taken to. I say, a man of your statue could do much better than a commoner girl, a lady of noble grounds should be your ambition, but alas the seduction of such a beautiful girl cannot be your fault." Taichi held his anger inside. Mimi's background as the run away queen of His Majesty Osamu of Royal had to be hidden from everyone, even to his closes friends. That was why it had been such a shock when his sister and her friends, especially Lady Yolei and Prince Ken had found out. Taichi thanked the Kami that both had gone on ahead with Prince Lee Jianliang to establish diplomatic ties with one another and was not otherwise here to make his life more difficult. Yolei was not someone he could trust to keep her mouth shut.

"Now the reason I have called you here my boy, is to tell you that I have received a grave bit of news from the homeland." Taichi raised an eyebrow, he did not understand how news from the Empire could effect him but he gave his full attention to the man none the less. "A letter from my brother has informed me that the Empire has been taken over, the Manchester's have staged a coup against His Imperial Majesty, King Cody di Tottenham and have exile him to the Thirteen Colonies of the New World. As such, the new government has been establishing ties with the Romans and are ready to attack Royal. St. George being Empire land means that you will be considered the enemy."

Taichi frowned, the man in front of him was basically telling him that he would be attacked being someone from Royal and the same would be said about his sister, Mimi, and the rest of his crew.

"Do not frown my friend. I have no plans to throw you off of this land, I am a royalist and my loyalty lies solely on His Imperial Majesty and the crown. However, I must implore you that you make haste with your repairs and leave as soon as possible, the Empire no doubt will be sending new governors to replace me in a few weeks time."

"Thank you Milord, you have been a gracious host. I hope that I can reply you with the safety of you and your family some day in return." Taichi replied, looking sincerely into Lord Crowle's eyes.

"I have already made plans for my family and I to escape to Hurontario, where the King no doubt will make it his centre of rebellion against these traitors." There was a knock on the door, Lord Crowle's eyes fell onto the doorway and Taichi followed suit by turning his head towards the door. Having expected one of the servant girls, Taichi was surprised that instead there stood no doubt one of Crowle's daughters, this one Taichi had to admit was much prettier than her elder sister Lady Beatrix. She had bronze coloured hair, darker and shinier than Mimi's chestnut coloured hair, but the girl also had a bit of red tinge in her hair as sunlight struck it, somewhat reminding him of Sora's amber red hair. She had her hair done in twin pigtails, giving it a wavy and airy feel to it, tied with two dark coloured ribbons, one on each side. She had a smile on her beautiful soft pink lips and she was wearing what Taichi had known as the standard uniform for St. George students, a simple white blouse and a knee length green colour plaided skirt. Taichi knew it was wrong to stare at the girl, for one it was impolite but secondly he was doing a disservice to Mimi but of course Taichi knew he could not stop his teenage hormones.

The girl merely smiled back, a light pink blush appearing on her face. "Father, I have brought some tea for you and the captain." Taichi finally too his eyes off of her face and down to the tea tray she was holding. Blushing himself for not noticing, he quickly turned around to face Lord Crowle once again. Taichi notice the sly smile on the man's face, knowing that he had played into the man's trap.

"Ah my dear Lily, come join us. Captain Taichi de Basse Normandie, please meet my second eldest daughter Lily." Taking a stand as the girl slowly made her way to the empty seat beside him and setting the tea down on her father's desk, Taichi took her hand and placed his lips to them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I did not know Lord Crowle had this many beautiful daughters." Letting go of the now blushing girl, Taichi once again took his seat, trying to get this little introduction out of his head, he could feel the stares Mimi would give him when or if he ever told her of this. Lady Lily Crowle set about pouring tea for her father and himself, Crowle himself took his tea and drank it in one big gulp.

"Do excuse my father, he does not have the best table manners." Lily said in her soft voice, comparing it to Mimi, her voice was that of an angel and Mimi was that of a horse. Mentally slapping himself again, Taichi made a note to spend extra time with Mimi from now on.

"I'm not one for manner's myself. As we were discussing before your gracious daughter brought us this fine sample of tea, I will assist you in any way I can to help you escape the new Empire's government."

"Thank you very much Lord Captain. Lily, why don't you show our guest here the school grounds, I am sure classes will be going on so that you should not have too much trouble making your way through. I hear the captain has been the star of many girl's eyes lately." Again Lord Crowle had his sly smirk, knowing full well Taichi could not refuse his offer. Taichi was gobsmacked, Lord Crowle knew how to play the game and he was at least two steps a head of Taichi. Taichi needed a savour and he needed one fast.

Having no other way out, Taichi stood and offered his hand to Lady Lily, "It would be my pleasure to tour this great school with such a beautiful lady at my side."

Having taking a peak at the Crowle girl, Taichi noted that she was blushing madly now, not the light colour cheeks she had before but her cheeks were as red as Sora's hair. Signing inside, Taichi knew this girl was falling for him from his previous experiences with fangirls when he was still the star of the football team back in Odaiba. He knew how the fend off these girls for a short period of time but he knew in the long run he would lose the war, fangirls would never lose to anyone.

With Lady Crowle at his side, they exited the administrative building and made their way towards the larger school building. Having entered through one of the many back doors, they made slowly walked through the school as the halls were empty from on going classes.

"How are you enjoying your time in Indos so far My Lord Captain?" These words came out soft but her voice was lovely none the less.

"I'm enjoying it very much and please, call me Taichi, my father is still Lord Basse Normandie."

"We have actually met before, although I'm sure you do not remember. Our fathers once had business dealings with each other and you had visited our estate, however you were a little devil at the time and I was too young to understand boys." She replied smiling, no doubt remembering their time with each other. Taichi on the hand had no idea what she was referring too, Lady Crowle was not someone he had met in his world and therefore had no previous relationship to build on. With Koushiro and Davis, they had mostly resembled themselves so it was easy for Taichi to approach them.

"Can you tell me what I was like when we were young Lady Crowle?" He asked sincerely. Although he had planned to leave this world once he found a way, he was still curious about what his other self was like.

"Lily, please call me Lily. You were such a boy when we were young. You had sneaked off to the gardens and found a frog at our pond and had the devious idea of putting said frog on top of my head. I remember sister Beatrix was so mad at you but father had said you were the guest and she was not to harm you. And than before you left for home, you pulled my hair thinking that it was fake. I cried so much that night." She replied softly and then added, with a barely audible, "Knowing that you were never coming back."

Taichi tried to keep a straight face, finally finding out why the Crowle treated him with such familiarity. However, he also felt as though he had dug himself a bigger hole, as Lily was now this world's Sora, a childhood friend. He had remembered how much it confused him when he found out his childhood friend was in love with Matt and he did not have the heart turn the table on this girl. Like the saying goes, Taichi was caught between a rock and a hard place.

They slowly and wordlessly made their way throughout the top floors of the school and finally top the first floor of the school. As they were making their way to the front entrance, light foot steps could be heard coming behind them.

"Taichi!" A familiar voice called, a voice that he hope to hear every morning, every afternoon, and every night. His pseudo wife Mimi had appeared above them, head popping from behind one of the banisters.

"Mimi!" Mimi had a frown on her face once she noticed the girl beside Taichi and who had her arms on Taichi's. Mimi quickly made her way down and rushed to him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

This time however, it was Lady Crowle who had a frown on her face. "My Lord Captain, shall I leave you two for some privacy?"

Not knowing how to answer the girl, he merely said, "Errr...yes I think that would be the best. Tell your father I enjoyed our time very much. I look forward to speaking with him again before the repairs are done." Lily nodded and made her way back to her father's office, Taichi finally sighed.

"What were you doing with that little scarlet women?" Mimi asked, glaring at him.

"She was just giving me a tour of the school like her dad asked."

"And nothing more?" She continued to stare at him, trying to find out the entire truth.

"Yes nothing more, she was just telling me about stories from our childhood. Apparently I had visited her family's estate when we were still children." This did not lessen Mimi's frown, deep inside Taichi knew something was bothering her and he did not dare push for an answer.

Finding this as the perfect time to give Mimi her present, Taichi took out the necklace from his pocket and held it up for Mimi to see, "Here, I got you this from the market. The lady said it would give the wearer sincerity to everything she sees."

Mimi finally brightened up and pulled her hair back allowing Taichi to put the necklace on her. He watched her spin around and make hold the necklace, smiling happily.

"Come on now, lets go back to your manor before you sister finds out we're together." Without waiting for Taichi's answer, she quickly pulled him along to his manor house.


	36. Book 4 Chapter 2

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 2: Ras Malai**

Taking another bite into his desert, a dish made of a flavourless cheese drenched in milk and sugar with almonds to top; Taichi watched the harbour teem with life in the far distance from his balcony, as the Reliant had finally finished it's repairs to its damaged haul. Sighing, Taichi took one final bite, he was stressed and beyond worried. A week ago Agumon had came down with a light cold and it had not passed over yet. Taichi feared that if they were to travel with Agumon in such a condition, Agumon could become even more ill.

He had tried to find anything he could on the subject of Digimon getting sick to no avail. He had asked his second in command, former governor of Manchester but Koushiro had no clue. He had said there was no past cases that he was aware of and even Lady Lily Crowle had found nothing from Saint George Academy's library and even less information from her elder sister Beatrix. Lady Crowle had made it a daily routine to visit him in his manor, often bring local delicacies for him to try. She was truly an excellent cook, even better than Mimi. Having witness his last encounter with Lady Crowle, Taichi found no need to tell Mimi about this new daily meeting between the two. Mimi was always tied by his sister for one reason or another and Taichi found it useless to find out what they were doing.

The Reliant was set to sail in a week's time; it would take that long for the ship to refill on supplies needed for the remaining of their trip to Ming. The original plan had been to sail around the coast until they reach the northern capital, however as they had wasted a months time on repairs, the new plan as suggested by Koushiro was a better navigator than himself, suggested they travel over land and through the desert locals called the "Sands of Death". However, seeing as airships were a relatively new technology, the desert did not pose the same dangers as traveling by land.

Although, Taichi would have felt better if he was traveling in one of the Ming's ship rather than a Royal one. The HMAS Reliant was fully capable of staying afloat in the air but compared to the Ming's ship, it was less reliable. The Ming, Taichi had learned were the first to travel by air and had improve the technology much beyond what Royal ships were. The Royal ships were simple in design, one large ballon to allow it to float and multiple sail fins to catch the wind much like a fish would with its fins. Ming ships on the other hand, did not rely on the wind, rather they had giant propellers powered by steam, something similar to paddle ships Taichi had once seen on a travel television program on the American south. It was much more reliable and controllable, and much, much faster.

The Reliant, with what little time Taichi had spent on the ship, was quite a capable machine. A heavyweight, one hundred gun class ship. It was truly an aerial fortress unlike the Noble or the Lyon, both thirty gun ships built for speed and boarding of other ships whilst the Reliant was act as the command centre. The size of the Reliant was not solely for the purposes of staying afloat in the air during battles but it was also used to house Digimon, were as the Noble and Lyon would only be capable of holding one large Digimon, the Reliant could hold five, with ample space for them to move around. In fact, the Reliant carried more than its fair share of Digimon, as it held one heavy weight in Megakabutarimon, two 3 medium sized Digimon in Davis' Magnamon, Takato's Gallentmon, and Mimi's Lilymon. Of course, he and his sister had the two smallest Digimon, Agumon and Gatomon respectfully. Their other travelling companions had opted to stay on the other ships, Takaru, Yolei, and Ken all stayed on the HMAS Lyon, which had accompanied the Prince of Ming and his personal airship back to Ming to establish diplomatic ties.

Even though he had planes, helicopters, blimps, gliders, and another dozens of aircrafts in his world, airship was still an amazement to him. Not because they could fly but because of the gigantic scale of it all. Taichi imagined that one day in this world, airships would become the norm, even though it was in this time. It was harder to keep track of them all, listing them from the top of his head, he knew Royal had only three classes of ships, the one hundred gun heavyweight class such as the Reliant, the thirty gun middle weight class ships, and finally the courier class ships build for a crew of five and three times faster then their battle counter parts. At least the Ming ships were easier to remember, as growing up with Buddhism Taichi could remember them from the top of his head. The Dragon class, a thirty gun ship that was super fast in straights, mostly used for transport. Then there was the Phoenix class ships, which Prince Lee Jianliang had told him consisted of twenty two guns but was made for a small crew and could fly circles around any other airship. The Prince himself had his personal ship, a Tiger class, only twelve guns but was made for boarding enemy ships. And finally, like the Royal heavyweight ships, the Ming had the Turtle class, although smaller and only half the fire power, it was built from steel, the only of its kind as everything else was built from lumber. Finally, according to Koushiro the Empire only had two types, the Olympus forty gun class, a ship that could fly higher than Royal ships and the Lord Class twenty two gun similar to a Royal middleweight, both of which Koushiro reminded, had been easily destroyed in the dozens by Taichi alone.

"Taichi, Lady Crowle is here to see you." Koushiro had come to remind Taichi, seeing as he was the only one currently employed within the manor as his advisor. Davis and Takato both had opted to stay on board of the Reliant to make sure the repairs had been done on time.

"Send her up and have the servants bring some tea." Taichi replied, holding his hands up to tell Koushiro was free to do as he liked.

"Taichi..." Koushiro started, "I don't want to over stay my welcome, but is it wise to be seeing Lady Crowle every day when Mimi, your wife let me remind you, has not seen you in more than a week and has no idea about your meetings with Lady Crowle?"

Sighing again, Taichi turned to Koushiro, "Its not like I have a choice Koushiro. You now know that Mimi is actually Lady Alsace, if anyone else knows then we would be in trouble. Lord Crowle doesn't know that and he has it in his head that one of his daughters is destined to marry me. Plus, we're leaving next week anyways, so Mimi does not have to worry or know about me seeing Lady Lily.

"Yes of course Taichi." Kourshiro replied, Taichi could see he was still unsure, "I shall inform the servants to bring you some tea then."

Some time after, Lily Crowle finally made her way up to the balcony where Taichi was sitting, not having moved and still staring out to the harbour. Lily took a seat beside him, Taichi noted that she was dress the same as their previous encounters, a simple white blouse and a green plaided skirt. Her hair still the same, two ponytail like pigtails, giving her a youthful look but none the less still every bit as beautiful. She had a frown on her face when otherwise she had always been smiling or lightly blushing in his presence.

"Father received a letter today." She simply stated and Taichi gave her a raised eyebrow, "The new government has already sent no less then ten airships towards Madras after catching word of your stay here. Taichi! You have to prepare your crew and leave as soon as possible!"

Taichi did not know how to reply to the tearful girl, he was in shock of the short notice. So in shocked that he did not realize Koushiro had entered the balcony, puffing and huffing for air as if he had ran for the last ten minutes.

"Taichi! We have some trouble, I just got this letter from Lady Ruki!" Quickly holding up a piece of paper and shoving it into Taichi's hands.

_June 21, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil._

_Dear Taichi,_

_Although I wish I can write to you about better times, this letter is to warn you. Father has just been visited by no less ten airships sent by the new government, now calling themselves Britannia. They have caught word of your stay in Madras from the new Prime Minister, one Jyou de Lyonais. It seems that he views you as the biggest threat to Britannia and will do anything for your head._

_I have order the Royal ship, HMAS Sparrow to get this to you. When you receive this, Britannian airships should only be no less than three days behind. I implore you to leave for Ming as soon as possible. _

_Sincerely,  
__Ruki of Bolton_

Having read the letter, Taichi frowned at the date. It was only written three days ago, the Sparrow was indeed a fast ship but the more pressing matter was that he had less time to prepare his crew.

"Koushiro! Get the ships prepared for departure. Grab Hikari and Mimi and tell them to be ready by the morning. Have the crew fill up the supplies, enough for at least a few days travel."

"Yes My Lord!" Koushiro quick rushed off to do as he was instructed.

Taichi then turned to Lily, still a frown on her face. "Lily, get your family prepared to leave. I'll have the Noble and Sparrow ready to take your family and any of the students who are from royalist family and take you all to South Wales. You should be safe with Lord Bolton until you find means to get to the New World."

Lily merely shook her head, "Father has made arrangements for everyone to evacuate, we should be safe as Britannia is only after you. We will take a ship to Hurontario once you have made it to safety." Lily said softly, before she leapt from her seat and kissed Taichi's cheeks. Leaving Taichi speechless, she quickly left the manor before he could reply, still holding the spot where she kissed him.

Arriving back in his room as the entire manor was in a frenzy to pack everything that was of value, leaving Tachi with little to nothing for himself to pack. The important items to him, his Digivice in particular was always on him, attached to his belt. The only thing he really needed to take was his Digimon, Agumon who was sleep in his bed, sweet rolling down his pained face no doubt in a deep fight with his illness. Sighing for the frustration the disease had caused him so far, Taichi picked up Agumon, still wrapped in a heavy blanket. Using all his strength, Taichi held up his Digimon and made his way to the entrance of the manor where his personal carriage Lord Crowle had lent to him awaited. As he was making his way down the stairs, he came to realized that Agumon was fairly heavy, weighing no less than one hundred pounds by his guest. As soon as the illness was to pass, he was going to put Agumon on a diet. There was no telling how much he was eating with an entire manor's worth of servants at your call.

Putting Agumon into the carriage, Taichi took one last look the Madras sky, now painted in a golden yellow and deep orange glow as the sun was setting. Although Taichi knew he had some leeway with the amount of time he had before the Empire's or rather the arrival of the Britiannian ships, he still felt a sense of urgency. There was no doubt the Britannians would seek him out and follow his trail and there was no doubt in his mind the would follow him until he reach the safety of the western boarders of Ming. That by his calculation would take no less than two or three days, giving them ample time to catch up with the slow moving Reliant.

The ride down to the port was quiet, allowing Taichi for something time to think. He did not want to engage in battle with the Britannians, he knew he had the advantage with two Mega Digimon, along with Koushiro's ultimate level Megakabutarimon, and Davis' golden armored Digimon. Taichi never felt the need to ask but now that he thought about it, what was Magnamon's level designation in this world? From his past experiences, Davis had been able to beat a ultimate level Digimon with ease back during Ken's rule as emperor in his world and this world's Davis had easily beaten one or two mega level SabreLeomon during their time in South Wales. Deciding the matter was for another time, Taichi took note that the carriage would be soon arriving at the docks.

Wondering if he would ever be able to return to his world, Taichi again sighed. There was no doubt another war was coming, especially having seen Jyou's temper against the ruling family of Royal. And now that he had been made Prime Minister, Jyou would of course free his fellow countrymen. Taichi had once again gotten himself into a sticky situation, knowing full well he had to help Ming with their problems and than no doubt returning to Royal once everything passed only to have to fight Jyou. Home seemed far away now but Taichi knew he had a duty to protect those he cared about.

Exiting the carriage with Agumon in hand, Taichi was greeted by Koushiro along with his sister and wife. Both girls were dressed in the standard academy uniform provided by St. George.

"My Lord Captain." Koushiro saluted while Mimi was the first to rush to him and hug him, followed closely by his sister.

"Have the crew make final preparations, we will set sail at midnight." He commanded in his most regal voice he could muster, Koushiro saluted in understanding and set about making arrangements with the other higher officers.

He turned to the servants attending to Mimi and his sister, "Bring my wife's belongings to my quarters and have my sister's thing brought to the one next to mine."

"Taichi, I will not have you sleep with Mi..." His sister was cut off by himself, giving her a glare.

"We don't have time to argue. And I'm a grown man and captain of this ship. It's my right to have my wife sleep in the same room as me and it is my right to have my wife wake up with me in the morning." Hikari looked taken back, Taichi having never ever shouted at his sister of this world sighed in frustration once again, "Look, sorry Hikari but we don't have time to argue this. He can talk about it once we're out of danger."

They made their way to their cabins, Taichi's being the largest on board the ship as it acted as his room and more importantly his command centre. Dropping Agumon onto his large bed, he could see his Digimon partner was suffering greatly, his breathing was heavy and his face red. Leaving his partner to get some sleep, he looked towards Mimi who had a worried face as this was the first time she had a proper look at Agumon.

"He's going to be okay right?" She asked a little scared.

"Of course!" Taichi grinned from ear to ear, "Agumon and I have been through tougher than this!" Although he did not show it, Taichi was very much worried about Agumon.

However, without warning the ship began to shake. The lights hanging from Taichi's ceiling began to shake and flicker, the sound of wind began broadcast, as if to signal the ship was taking off. The next moment, Taichi's door slammed open and Koushiro and Davis appeared.

"Captain!" Davis started but was cut off by Koushiro "The Empire's airships have been spotted less than three kilometres from our position. They've fired warning shots at us. I'm afraid we do not have time to completely stock up on rations, we have to take off now!"

Nodding, Taichi stood up from the bed that Agumon slept, "Order the crew to take off, have the Noble and Sparrow follow at the rear. Do not fire unless we are hit first, I do not want to be the one responsible for inciting a war!"

"Yes Milord!" Both Koushiro and Davis saluted and then ran to their post to prepare the ship for take off.

Turning once again to Mimi, he looked at her and said, "You stay here, it safer. I have Davis and Takato to send out their Digimon in defence of the ship."

Mimi opened her mouth to protest but was stopped by another raspy voice, "I'm coming too Taichi" Agumon caughed, "You'll need my help."

Taichi turned towards his Digimon, "No, your still ill. Even though I can Digivolve you, your still laking the energy."

"No I'm fine" Agumon retorted and slipped off the blanket that had previously been covering him. Agumon stood up weakly and continued out of the room while Taichi was glued to his spot. Snapping out of his shock, he bid Mimi to take care of herself and rushed to where Agumon was heading.

By the time both of them had slowly made their way to the top deck of the Reliant, the giant airship was already flying a couple of hundred feet above the Madras townscape. Behind them to the south west was the Britannian fleet, ten small dots in the sky could be seen, as the wood and canvas of the ship was visible with the setting sun as its back drop. The Noble and the Sparrow followed behind them, still a little under them as they were still trying to gain attitude. Davis and Takato were already near the back of the ship, trying to gain the highest position on the deck to see and shout commands to their Digimon.

Taichi followed with Agumon, releasing his Digivice from his belt, Taichi held it out towards Agumon. "Now Agumon, Digivolve!"

The Digivice began to glow it usual orange however it soon faded and was replaced by a red light flashing on his Digivice screen. Three symbols appeared, flashing on screen, Agumon still in his rookie form. Taichi recognized the three symbols. Thanks to Koushiro, the Digidestined were given a lesson on translating Digital symbols into hiragana. His Digivice read "eraa", _error_.

Not believing what had happened, Taichi held his Digivice tightly still staring at it intensely as he fell to his knees. He did not notice or hear anything that was going on around him. He also failed to notice Agumon fainting besides him as explosions could be heard not too far from where they were.

"Taichi! Taichi! Damn it all! Full sail, have the Noble and Sparrow bring up the rear, retreat our Digimon. We better hope we can out run them." Koushiro called as Taichi was still in shook. The ship unfrailed it's fin like sails as the wind began to push them out to sea.


	37. Book 4 Chapter 3

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 3: Beef Jerky**

The meat was tough, dry, and tasteless but it was the only source of food that was left on the ship after their hurry to leave the Indos port city of Madras. Having been out to sea for four days now, what food they had stocked before leaving was now running out. They had only ten sheep and two cows at the start of their journey, however they had more than one hundred mouths to feed on board the Reliant alone, not taking in account the six Digimon they had with them. As the days past by, they began to run out of supplies, first the fresh meat from their livestock and now the dry meat they had for emergency cases. If they did not find a source of food before coming upon a Ming town or city, the crew would surely become agitated.

Thanks to their strongest Digimon, the sight of Gallentmon and Magnamon was able to scare off the pursuit of the Britannian air fleet; having renamed their country after exiling their king. Their own journey had taken them out to sea at first but thanks to Koushiro's previous knowledge of topography, they had made a sharp turn north after a day drifting east. On their third night, they had finally spotted their first bit of coast and now, on their fourth day, they were pulling into the mountainous interior of the Kingdom of Ming. They had past by a small outpost on the coast, who had indeed confirm their position. However the outpost was not big enough to provide any food as most of their supplies came from their own gardens or from fishing. The Reliant would have otherwise relied on fishing except they lack any equipment for fishing nor would their be enough to sustain them for more than a day or two. Furthermore they could not rely on hunting as the landscape, mostly made of mountains, lacked any sight of animals or plants.

Taichi was not worried about his crew or himself going hungry, he was more worried about Agumon. His fever had not gone down and had been bed ridden for the entirety of the journey, coming in and out of consciousness. Taichi was afraid that with food running out, Agumon might become worst as he would need nourishment to fight off his disease. What little food Agumon did take, came in the form of horrible tasting soup or grub, nothing fit for someone who was seriously sick; however this was a dire situation and anything he could feed to his Digimon he would.

The command of the ship had fallen onto Koushiro as other high ranking officers did not see fit for Taichi to be running the ship with his current worries on his Digimon. Koushiro, being Taichi's first-mate had been voted as the substitute captain until Taichi could come to his senses. Taichi almost laughed; a year ago they would have killed Koushiro and the other prisoners of war from the Empire but now that Koushiro had his title striped and proving his alliances towards Royal after the South Wales incident, he was one of the most respected officer in His Majesty's service even though he could never gain a real rank. However, Koushiro was still the Red Devil, a name that strike fear into those who had heard of his exploits, even though Koushiro never acted as told in the stories.

Taichi had wondered about Koushiro's name, he had even asked the short red headed lord about how he became known as the Red Devil. Koushiro was reluctant at first but with the help of Davis' big mouth, Taichi had soon learned about his best friend's past. The story was out of a book if Taichi had not witness the magic of this world first hand, a fantastical tale of how Koushiro had been the one to kill the "Mad Governor" Horwich.

He remembered Koushiro going on about the tale, "The Mad Governor, starving his city while he fed himself until he became insane. Manchester always had eleven ruling families but the governorship was always given to the most powerful family. The eleven families, under the banner of Manchester United, became increasingly angry with the governor taking everything from them, they became nothing more than commoners under the eye of the mad governor. Of course, the families became angry enough to plan a coup. It was my uncle himself, the new and current Governor of Manchester who planned the attack. Since I was the youngest of the Lords at the time, my uncle must have thought I was the easiest for him to control and therefore, I was voted as the one to stab Horwich and become the new Lord of Manchester. "

Of course, once Koushiro had become the new Lord, his uncle discovered he wasn't so easy to manipulate as he first thought and became lucky when Koushiro was captured. Having nothing to go back to and more likely to be imprisoned or hanged if he did indeed go back, Koushiro swore his loyalty to Taichi when he saved him from a fatal shot by an assassin his uncle no doubt hired.

"Taichi." The soft voice of his wife called. Taichi felt a pang of guilt every time he would look upon her now, not because of his growing relationship with Lady Lily of Crowle but because they had grown distant ever since his sister had split them apart. He did no put blame on his sister, after all, she was a lady of noble stature and the things that he and Mimi did out of wedlock would upset anyone with an ounce of dignity. Taichi didn't know if he loved Mimi or not, not true love at least. He enjoyed their time together but would he give up his quest for home over her was still undecided. Yes he had chosen to stay when the choice was given to him in his dream but he was also worried about his real family and friends. Did they know he was gone, did they even care, or was this world like the Digital World before the final battle, time moving hundreds of times faster than his world's.

Taichi turned his gaze from his faithful Digimon to his wife, she had a sad face but she was still beautiful none the less. "Taichi, you should get some rest. Give me the bowl and I'll get the cooks to find some more food for Agumon."

Handing the bowl to her, she kissed him on the forehead before smiling a little. "He'll be okay, it's you who should be getting some rest. Koushiro says we're still a day or two until we reach the western capital of Xi'an, where we can stock up on supplies before making our way to the northern capital of Beijing." She said in her soft voice, almost as a whisper.

Taichi nodded, "Will you sleep with me? I miss you."

Mimi smiled, looking at him as signs of tears started to form on her eyes. She allowed the bowl to rest on a table surface near by and almost tackling Taichi to the ground, stealing kisses rapidly while he tried to recover from the fall. Somehow, Taichi forgotten about all what had taken place, his time spent with the young Lady Crowle and nearly forgetting Agumon was still sick and in pain sleeping in his bed. Taichi was able to find an extra blanket to cover both himself and Mimi was they stayed together sitting with each other on the floor of Taichi's cabin.

Taichi was awaken as sun light grabbed his face but he was truly woken up when a loud, sharp howl could be heard. Getting up, his sweat laden cloth cling onto his body. Taking a look outside his window - a large window looking out of the large one hundred gun ship, he was surprise to find the ship had come to a stop on land; it looked as though they landed in a large valley surrounded by mountains on every side he looked. The land was barren, sandy plains with patches of large tall grasses. He could not spot a single tree or animal, only a couple of birds flying above them.

Wondering how and why they had grounded the Reliant, Taichi took a quick check on his Digimon partner, still ill and in pain as he slept on Taichi's bed. Sighing, Taichi unlatched his door, quickly closing it after himself making sure not to wake Mimi, he made his way to the top deck of the ship hoping to find answers. He soon found his second-in-command, Koushiro as he was directing orders to the ship's crew as they rushed around himself and Koushiro.

"Koushiro! Why have we landed? Is there a problem with the ship?" Taichi frantically asked his best friend's doppleganger.

Koushiro merely blinked and answered, "It seems that our ballast balloons cannot carry the wait of the ship in this temperature. We have landed until the weather warms up or when Davis finds some wood so that we can heat up the balloons."

Taichi nodded pretending to understand, looking around him he noticed that both the Noble and Sparrow were not with them. Looking back at Koushiro quizzically and opened his mouth. However before he could ask where the other ships were, Koushiro replied, "The Noble and Sparrow have gone ahead of us to scout positions. They do not carry the same weight as the Reliant and can still flying in cold temperature."

Their conversation was cut short when one of the crew member shouted at the arrival of Davis' party. The crew then dropped a roped ladder down the starboard of the ship and a large basket to bring up any supplies Davis had found. Davis being the party's leader, came back up last, huffing and puffing, looking excited Davis yelled out towards Taichi and Koushiro.

"Captain! Look what I found." Rushing toward the basket that was not yet hoisted back up to the top deck of the ship, Davis pulled out an item that Taichi nearly mistook for a peach. Taking a closer look, Taichi then found that these were not peaches but instead a mushroom with a white stem and a cap that was solid pink at top and defusing to white as the pink ran down.

Looking back at Davis, Taichi asked, "Are these safe?"

"Doctor Montparnasse has taken a look at them, they seem to be safe to eat. We've gathered enough to feed us for a week. And enough wood to heat the balloons until we reach Beijing."

"Yes, have the chef cook them up as soon as possible." Taichi replied to Davis and turned to face Koushiro, "Have the engineers get on putting us back in the air. We're not stopping until we arrive at the capital."

All around him, each soldier and both his friends replied in a loud voice, "Yes Milord!"

The rest of the journey was uneventful, passing through only a few small villages, none big enough for them to resupply on. However, they still had a large supply of the pink mushrooms, but the usual fare of cooking them was a simple soup or stew and the crew including Taichi soon began to become bored with them. Agumon was still ill but Taichi found that Agumon looked less in pain day by day but he still had no clue as to whether or not Agumon was getting better. After a week of sailing straight east, they had finally caught sight of the outer towns surrounding the grand city that was Beijing. As they came closer to the city, a small ship came upon them to direct the Reliant into one of ports that housed airships, the Noble, Sparrow, and even the HMAS Lyon, the ship that carried Prince Ken's party had been docked there. They were met by a small group of officials who were there to bring Taichi and the important people that he had with him to the imperial palace.


	38. Book 4 Chapter 4

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 4: Baijiu**

The bitter liquid entered his mouth, burning his throat and making its way through his nose. It wasn't the first time he had drank rice wine but the Chinese as he remembered had a much harder version compared to the relatively smooth taste of sake. Then again, sake was not something that anyone could drink and not be effected by it's burning. But this _bai-jiu_ as one of the maids had replied to his questioning, was was much stronger than the sake he was given once by his father as a congratulations for getting into Odaiba High; rather this had the familiar scent of paint thinner if Taichi had to explain it to anyone who asked. The music was loud, the voices of those who were attending tried to cut through the music, the only method it seemed was raising their own voice to become louder than the music itself and finally, the girls who were entertaining the guests were beautiful. Again, Taichi cursed his own hormones.

It was tradition he was told, that only men were allowed to such feast, the women on the other hand were to dine together in a separate dining hall, without the fanfare of what the men were getting. Both his sister and Mimi at first were reluctant but Miyako had told the two girls that it wasn't so bad and it was only for one night. However, Miyako had failed to mention that Taichi himself was to be entertained in such way, most likely having no idea in the first place. The girls that were provided were of course beautiful, Taichi figured they were probably gathered from all over Ming and sent to the capital to entertain the emperor and if the need ever raised such as instance, his guest. It was likely none of these girls were from any noble blooded family, merely playthings for the emperor to throw away when he was tired of them. Again, they were beautiful but they had no futures and beauty was the only thing that was saving them from being left to die on the streets. Many of them were dancing in the centre of the dinning hall, as two rows of table lined each side of the long hall and a table on a raised platform closed of the c-shape were the emperor solely sat. The more beautiful and younger ones were already taken by some of the officials that were attending the feast - they were mostly fat and old, officials that had seen many days in the court and when drunk found no need to hide their primal urgers.

"Young Lord Captain, are you not enjoying yourself?" Taichi came out of his trance, his mouth finally cooled off from the burning liquid. One of the girls, Taichi had found that she was by far the most beautiful and popular amongst the dancers. The girl's name was Fa Yinghua and throughout the night the emperor had been pushing her towards Taichi as he was the guest of honour. A face pearl in colour like a doll, eyes big as the moon, two dark hazelnut coloured iris' starred straight into his. Her hair was like many of the girls, two long pig tails from each side of her hair, some what reminding him of Lady Lily Crowle but these girls had much longer strands, Taichi though that they even reach the floor if they were not held back on top of their heads, making each strand in the shape of flower pedals.

"No, no, just tired from the long journey." He managed to say softly as he reach for his other cup containing water, Taichi doubted he could take another sip of rice wine.

"Shall I prepare your room and accompany you to bed?" She asked innocently, however Taichi was in the middle of gulping down his drink, her question causing him to spit out his drink and chock on what was left in his windpipe.

The girl hurriedly rushed across his table and using one of her hand as support and patting his back in an effort to help him. She looked concerned for him, she looked very much innocent even though she had just asked Taichi to take her to bed. Taichi took a closer look at her face, indeed she was beautiful but her beauty was more likely due to her young age compared to Mimi and Lady Crowle. Taichi guessed the girl was no older than fifteen and many of the other girls were probably of similar age. It was one of those thing that he was not prepared for, of course in his world laws were much tighter than they were in this era and furthermore, when the emperor himself was offering he could not simply refuse even though it was against his morals.

"Lord Captain, are you okay? Shall we retire to bed?" Again she asked this question so innocently.

"Errr, no thank you. I have a wife to go back too and..." He pause to find an excuse, he could not simply say she was not attractive, "I can't simply take one of the emperor's maids to..." again he was stumped.

"Do not bother the poor captain anymore Yinghua, it looks like he's been wiped by his wife." A booming voice called out, although there was amusement in his voice, the emperor was still commanding none the less. "And what a beauty she is. I envy you Lord Captain, your wife is young and beautiful, still ripe. My wife however, has grown old and fails to please me anymore. If you shall not accept my gift for the evening, then I myself shall have her."

"Of course your majesty." She simply said as she got up and smiled towards the emperor, still looking ever so innocent. Taichi did not know if she was or she was simply wearing a mask.

Speaking of the emperor, Taichi found him to be a curious man. He was the older brother of Prince Lee Jianliang, officially introduced as the Son of Heaven, Emperor Lee Rinchei. Taichi had found that the emperor was no older than himself and the prince and emperor's father was still very much alive. Taichi had tried to stay awake in his history classes during his first year in high school; from what he vaguely remembered, Japan itself had such a system where once an emperor grew too old, he would become the retired emperor. However he did not remember such system was in place in China once they had gotten to the topic - Ming was an incarnation of China with Japan's political system he concluded. And it was this system in which cause the need for Taichi to be in this country as the Ming itself was split into four capital from what he had learned. The northern capital Beijing, was the home to the emperor, the south was given to Prince Jianliang and Emperor Rinchei's sister, Princess Jaarin. The western captail of Xi'an was given to the prince's mother as a wedding gift from the retired emperor when he was still young and ruling. Finally, the eastern capital, Dongjing belonged to the prince himself and his little sister Princess Shaochung. However, the eastern capital had recently rebelled against the Kingdom of Ming when a new warlord by the name of Daimon Masaru had appeared from no where. Taichi did not know the details, however he was told that Daimon Masaru too had a Digivice, according to the prince's discription of the device and his Digimon.

"Now gentleman." A booming voice called. "I am sorry to say that you must put away your playthings for now, we have matters to attend to and I am sure they will be waiting for you in bed once we are done." The girls who were with some of the drunk officials quickly dressed themselves, some had faces flushed in red as they all rushed out the room. Some of the men look pleased and some looked as though they could kill the emperor even though they were too afraid to do such a thing.

"Now, down to business." The emperor clapped his hand as more servants enter the room bring with them a large cloth like map as they spread it onto the floor separating the two tables. "As you can see, the mainland is safely under our control" The Emperor pointed as the servants moved a large wooden flag representing the Ming. The flag was a simple design, golden yellow in the background and a decorated dragon in the middle. The emperor then moved his eyes towards Japan, "And here lies the western island province of Riban and on the eastern most coast lies the ruined capital of Dongjing." A new wooden flag was brought to represent the rebels, a simple red flag with a black image of what looked like Agumon's upper body.

"Those damned rebels have pushed our forces back to the western port of Jingdu." Again a yellow piece fell to the city that represent the emperor's forces. Taichi recognized the two cities without having too look twice, Jingdu and Dongjing; Kyoto and Tokyo. Some part of him wanted to side with whoever this Daimon Masaru was but he knew that he could not betray the country he had come to call home and in turn their new allies, the Kingdom of Ming.

"So Lord Captain, what do you think?" The Emperor asked as all eyes turned towards him.

"With all do respect Your Majesty, but as you have commissioned me to fight with my Mega Digimon, however at the moment my Digimon is down with illness. Our best solution is to have a diplomatic envoy with myself. It would be wise that we come to terms without any bloodshed. I beg you Your Majesty, let me please talk to this warlord, I may have a trump card yet."

"I do not see what good talking to these animals would do, however my Lord Captain, you do have a reputation and I believe you can solve this for us." The Emperor replied, Taichi nodded in response.

"Thank you Your Majesty, I will not let you down."

"Good, I shall have a convoy of ships ready to accompany you to Jingdu. For now, lets us retire to our rooms, it seems some of my court have lost their patience and want to indulge on their delights of the night." The Emperor concluded the meeting and left without any hesitation. Taichi tried not to focus on the Emperor and the cute maid, instead opting to thinking about returning to Japan. Maybe he would find a connection in his homeland, where it all started.

Taichi made his way to his room, after a bit of asking around for direction. He was deep in though about past memories of what happened when the Digidestined had first returned to the real world in search of the eighth child. As he entered his room, he had failed to notice the other person that was present. This did not bod well, as that person was not one to be ignored. Seeing as Taichi was too busy with his thoughts, a small giggle appeared in her mouth.

"So what do you think?" She said loud enough to wake him. She spun around in her new silk dress, as Taichi recovered, his jaws hung open. Before him stood Mimi, her hair wavy as the day he first met her in Saint Germain, but shorter to the point of shoulder length, reminding him more of her Odaiba counterpart. That was not what had his heart beating twice as fast. She was dressed like the dancers that had entertained them that night, her green silk gown hugged her body perfectly, yet unlike those dancers were their entire outfit was almost transparent, Mimi had a solid green silk cloth covering most of her body, her sleeves and skirt were translucent as if she was not wearing anything, it was almost tempting Taichi.

"Oh, it seems that I have my husband's approval." She giggled lightly, causing Taichi's heart to nearly fall.

"Mimi...I...your..." He could not finish he sentence as he could not find the right words and that before he realized, Mimi's mouth was already on top of his. Taichi didn't dare to think what would have happened if his hormones had gotten the better of him back during the fest, only to walk in later to find both girls at each other trouts. He push the though out of his mind as he let go all his raw urges that been building up ever since Mimi had first stowaway on board his ship. All the guilt of other women he wanted, of Lady Crowle, of the maid Yinghua, were all gone as he gently brought his wife to his bed.

He woke in the morning not remembering much of what happened, he blamed the effects of alcohol. However he found himself very much naked and by his side, a very naked Mimi still asleep hugging tight at his body. He escape her embrace without much trouble and quickly dressed himself, he did not want to wake up to an angry Mimi if she was mad and certainly from seeing his deep blush at the sight of her naked body.

Quickly leaving his room as to not to wake his sleeping wife, Taichi began his search for the kitchens of the palace. The Palace was a large place, from the deck of the Reliant he had spied the palace to be a city within a city. He had been to the Palais Royale when he was first invited to Central by the King himself to be given the assignment of governor to South Wales. The palace at Central was fairly big, however the imperial palace or as the Ming's court had told him, the Heaven's Palace was on a whole other scale. Where the Palais Royale could fit into a city block, the Heaven's Palace was the size of a small town, comparable to something like Mishima and probably held more servants than the entire town's population. The city was well defended and the palace more so than the city as it was surrounded by a large and deep moat to separate the poor from the rich inner workings of the palace. And if the poor or enemies were to swim through that, they would be faced with a steep wall that surrounded the palace, nearly impossible to scale by hand and much too high for anyone to use a rope to climb.

Having wonder the halls for the last ten minutes, Taichi was utterly lost. He had been to many temples in his younger days back in Japan and he had even been invited to the Imperial Palace when Mimi and Sora had both been invited to learn how to conduct a proper tea ceremony. Of course, the first choice of Mimi was for Taichi to attend her first real ceremony, Taichi had blush the entire time Mimi had been there, she wore a nice decorated pink kimono that day and even though at that age Taichi was more interested in Sora, Mimi was still able to work her magic on him. The Heaven's Palace reminded him of those days as the style was very much similar to those in Japan, as hallways always had one side open to the sky, pillars held up the roof so that on rainy days water did not become a problem for those who used it. Taichi always found the halls in Royal to be cold and dark, he much preferred open halls as it was what reminded him of home.

As if on cue, smoke and scent of food filled his nose and he knew his nose was his most reliable organ. Taichi quickened his pace and hurried to where he now knew where the kitchen was located. Once he found the room where the scent of food were coming from, he open the door and his eyes grew big at the sight of the food. The cooks paid no attention to him in the chaos of trying to ready the morning meals for the hundreds of patrons. Taichi found his way deeper into the kitchen where he found a large bowl holding dozens of what he knew as Chinese pork buns, the smell coming from the steaming buns tipped him off to what the inside contents were; and there was no mistake to it as these buns were a favourite snack of Hikari and himself whenever they made their way back from school and wanted to avoid their mother's cooking.

Spotting what looked like one of the chief cooks, he ask the man if he could take one or two and be on his way. The man merely grunted a yes and then pushed Taichi out of the kitchen once he got his hands on his targets. Taichi had managed to take three, one of them he wrapped in a white cloth he found in the kitchen in order to save the bun for Agumon, no doubt when he became better it would remind him of the real world which they both missed dearly.

Taichi slowly chewed on his new prize, with one bun in each hand, he walked the halls trying to retrace his steps. He had no idea where he was going nor any destination in mind, however sooner or later he knew he was going to be called to the Emperor's audience to make final preparations for the journey to the Ming's eastern state. Rounding another corner in his endless walk to nowhere, Taichi was surprise to bump into of all people, His Majesty Prince Ken. Taichi did know Ken all that well, in both this world and his, he never really got to know the former Digimon Emperor, probably for the deep and repressed anger he felt towards the boy when he imprisoned Agumon and force Digivolved him into Skullgreymon. The same could be said of the Prince, although Taichi knew they were not the same person, his face still reminded him of that day and therefore Taichi had made no further attempts at befriending the boy.

It was Prince Ken who first recovered and spoke to Taichi, "Ah, Captain Taichi just the person I was looking for." Taichi give the young man a questioning look, "Captain I am here to tell you that I will be returning to Royal with both the Lyon and Noble, their services have been called back by my brother. It seems the Republic of Italia has fallen to their southern neighbours and our borders will be soon attacked. Of course, I will send word for your return to Royal once your commission with Ming has ended."

Not knowing what to say, Taichi merely replied with a simple "Yes my Prince".

"And do not worry, my brother shall not hear of your secret from this mouth of mine or Miyako's. Prince Takeru too will return to the homeland as he is also needed. I do not know what your sister's plans are but we will be leaving at daybreak tomorrow once the ships have resupplied." After his speech, Ken saluted Taichi and Taichi returning the honour.

Soon Taichi was approached by a servant, telling him that his services was needed by the Emperor. Taichi was then lead to a large hall not unlike the one he was in last night and the Emperor himself sat in a similar fashion at a raised platform. The room was filled with a dozen or so of the Emperor's advisors but what surprised him was the attendance of his crew, that being Davis and Koushiro.

"So Lord Captain, have you decided on a course of action?" The King asked.

"Yes Your Majesty. I believe the wisest move at the moment would be to stall for time and hopefully find peace in negotiations." Taichi replied best he could in a harden voice, hopefully to prove to the emperor of his resolve. Taichi did not want to fight another battle if it meant both humans and Digimon alike could die.

"That is foolish! Those apes are nothing but savages, they will not listen to reason!" One of the Emperor's advisors managed to shout.

The Emperor merely chuckled at that, "Yes but these apes as you call them has managed to hold back the world's greatest army. I too believe the Lord Captain is correct in taking these actions. I will send at least twenty of my ships to your command Lord Captain, five Dragons, seven Phoenix, seven Tigers, and one Turtle as high command."

"Thank you Your Majesty. I will no fail." Taichi replied as he knelt to the floor on one knee and a hand over his heart.

"Make sure you do not Lord Captain, this Daimon Masaru is a dangerous man." Taichi nodded, anyone with the name meaning "big trouble" was no doubt going to be handful. If the rumours were correct, then someone with a Digivice was even more of a threat than any old warlord.


	39. Book 4 Chapter 5

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 5: **Tonkotsu

Fried herring with light profiles of soy and lemon, pickled vegetables, grilled chicken, all with a bowl of rice. It was everything that reminded him of home, it was everything that he missed about his home but here it was in a far away land, the last place he could think of where foods from his home could be found. Yet it was not so hard to think otherwise, this was after all Japan but it was not the Japan he knew and certainly not the country he had been thought that would never surrender to any country. Japan had been the only country left in the world where there had been on continuous line of kings from the Yamato clan, the only country in its thousands of years in existence to never fall into foreign hands. This country however was not that Japan he knew, this Japan was simply another state in the vast Kingdom of Ming, this Japan was nothing but the eastern most state of Riban, a simple state ruled by a boy Prince and his even younger sister. Inside he felt as though his homeland was forcefully taken away from him and he even went as far as to say he agreed with the rebels but here he was, Lord Captain for the enemy.

He wondered how an once powerful nation such as Japan would fall to the Ming, from his history books back when he was still in high school had said Japan would often send envoys to the Emperor of China, great treasures, some emperors even sent their beautiful daughters to the Chinese court in hopes of gaining alliances with the most powerful nation in history. History never interested him but diplomatic aftereffect did, so he asked for the local library or even a historian so that he could learn what had happened to his Japan. What he learned didn't surprise him, dozens of decades of infighting between warlords had finally culminated in the Kingdom of Ming to merely walk onto the shores of Japan and simply ask the Emperor to swear alliance to the grand Emperor of Ming; and after years of adding the Japanese royal blood into the Ming, people simply forgot there ever was a Japan and now remember it as simply as a backwaters of the Kingdom of Ming.

And now here he was sitting in one of the most iconic castle in Kyoto, Nijo Castle, where he was being served as a guest of honour to those who still fought for the Emperor of Ming to reclaim their state. The Prince too was there, as this was his land but not his castle, his home was at Jianghu Castle, rather Taichi knew it as Edo Castle. He had brought his retainers too, Koushiro, Davis, and the young Takato, their Digimon waited on board the Reliant as it too had sailed to Taichi's homeland. However, it was not them who worried Taichi, it was the presence of Mimi and his own sister that had his mind on other things rather than the war. His sister had been offered to go back to Royal with Prince Takeru and His Majesty Prince Ken, however she refused her future husband's wish to return home but rather keep an eye on Taichi. To be fair, it was only Hikari who knew his secret, she had once asked about his homeland and he had told her how wonderful it was and no doubt she wanted to stay to confirm all those stories he had told her.

What really had his eyes flinching was the fact that both his sister and Mimi had decided to drop their silk dresses, gifts from the Kingdom of Ming for kimonos so that they would fit in with some of the ladies that were present at Nijo Castle. However, that was also not the case for his irritation, rather is was how Mimi looked that had him in a fit. She looked exactly like her, like her Odaiba counterpart, the same design, the same colour, the same way she would have her hair in a bun, the same smile, and the same pink lip with that wonderful smile. It was before they went their separate ways, when they all grew apart from their adventure days. It had been an unusually hot summer but that day the weather was cooler, it was the summer after their adventures, they had all only started high school that spring. The entire gang of Digidestined had agreed to gather, in some ways it was their last real chance to be together as Mimi was to move away in the following months. He remembered that night fondly, he had been waiting in his apartment for his sister and Sora to both be ready as they were both locked away in her room preparing themselves. Himself refusing to wear a yukata as it was too much work and he much rather stay with one of his soccer shirts and shorts. When he first laid eyes on Sora and his sister, he had mix feelings, sure Sora had been beautiful but he did not want guys to look at his own sister like that. Then after some time walking down to the nearest park where the festival was being held, they met up with others. Mimi was last to join, but unlike Sora and Hikari, his reaction consisted of his jaw to drop and himself to become speechless. Of course none one seemed to notice his reaction, certainly not Mimi as her concentration were on Jyou as he still had a crush on her which Taichi had thought to be finished after the summer of the Diaboromon incident the year before.

And now, a much older and much more beautiful women who looked like Mimi was wearing the exact same thing and it as hard as last time but this time he managed to keep his reaction in check. To stop his jaw from dropping and indeed this time he would have drooled, he kept most of his attention not on the beautiful lady siting on the totami mate beside him but on the food he had missed so much.

"Lord Captain, I hope that you have enjoyed your food. It may not be what you are familiar with and we are not nearly as rich to provide better." Came the voice of one of the many Lords enjoying the meal with Taichi and the Prince.

"No. It reminds me of my childhood actually." Taichi smiled with a nogalistic look in his eye.

"You childhood Lord Captain?" Taichi woke from his memories and swore under his breath.

"Yes, my father had met some traders when they came to port at Normandie, they sometimes brought foods from around the world with them. This reminds me of them." He lied hoping the Prince and his lords would not ask further questions.

"I was not aware we had trade with Royal." One of the Lords asked, this time turning to the prince.

"Yes well, these traders were merely middlemen for a world wide trade. They would trade something from one place for something traders from even further would bring to trade them. They even brought my father carvings from south of the Thirteen Colonies once." He lied again, this time trying to ignore the scathing face his sister was directing at him but also failing to notice Mimi's questioning looks.

"Yes, the southern lands are very much unknown. Father had once commissioned a group of ships to explore the lands but they never returned and we fear the worst of them." The Prince said.

The rest of the dinner meeting was quite, small talk between the warlords that occupied the room, Taichi had gotten into a deep conversation with a lord which he did not remember the name of. The night ended with an agreement to wait for word from the infamous Daimon Masaru himself to allow Taichi and his crew to visit him as a diplomatic envoy and soon they return to their given rooms. Taichi had wanted to spend the night with Mimi, afterall she was dressed in such a beautiful kimono it was always tempting for Taichi, however once again Hikari had gotten hold of Mimi first and took her off to some place where Taichi fear allowed no men to enter. Yet when he drop his body on to the traditional futon the castle maids had given him, he fell right asleep, dreams of home filled his head.

He was woken in the morning by the heat and the loud sound of cicadas filled his open window. Taichi knew it would be another day or two before word from the east would reach him and had decided the day was best spent wondering the streets of what he knew as old Kyoto. He had visited Kyoto a few times, many were the focus of school trips but he never really enjoy any of them since he would be swamped with girls who had finally found the courage to ask him to spend the day with them as they toured Kyoto. He would always say no of course, at the time he only had eyes for Sora and it was rather as a brother figure than a love interest and they would often wonder around the city with the other Digidestined, with Mimi when she was still living in Japan and with Jyou when he was still attending the school since he was a year older. Those days were filled with laughter and memories, of food and drinks with no worries to worry about but this trip was different.

He had checked on Agumon first before leaving the castle. Agumon was doing fairly well lately, he had recovered from his fever but still too weak to part take in his daily walking about. Agumon was able to take in solid food now whereas before it was only that boring old mushroom broth day in and day out. Not wanting to have anyone with him for his trip into the city centre, especially his wife who would no doubt question him on how he knew the city and culture so well, Taichi had snuck through the halls of the castle, avoiding anyone who could later point him out if anyone should be in the mood to find him. Only the guards standing at one of the castle's lesser known entrances had seen him and even then they merely bow to him as he left the grounds.

Aside from his school trips where there was always a guide or a detailed map, Taichi had no idea where he was, only that he could still see the outlines of the castle towers from where he was, a focal point if he needed to return to the castle later that day. The streets were busy, city folk going about their day, fishermen trying to sell their morning catch, and a few geishas past by him, some turn to look at him as he was dressed in his army grab although without his iconic green coat - though most probably found his choice of clothing to be strange. Not knowing where he was headed, Taichi had finally found what looked like a respectable noodle shop once his stomach reminded him he had not eaten all morning.

The large shop was not unlike anything Taichi had seen before, it reminded him of the many noodle shops that populated Tokyo. Traditional writing with a mix of kenji and hiragana litter the walls of the shop. Taichi had found it strange, he never did question language of this world before, but looking at the menus he began to wonder. The people and countries he had visited so far all spoke one language, Taichi did not know what that language would have equated to back in his world, but everyone understood it. He did not question it when they were in South Wales nor Madras as they were colonies but Ming was a Kingdom onto itself and it was a little strange that the would speak a common tongue. Writing on the other hand was different, back in Royal it had been what he knew to be as English letters with English looking words, but here in Ming and this world's version of Kyoto, writing was what he knew from his childhood, he could read every letter, understand what they meant. It was best he did not question it and just let it as is.

He waved a waiter over, a girl no older then himself probably younger, with a kind looking face. Taichi cursed inside, he had to deal with yet another pretty girl around his age, he cursed whoever was responsible for testing his relationship with Mimi.

"Irrashaimase! What can I get you master?" The kind girl asked, she was dressed in a simple pink striped yukata with an apron to match.

"Bowl of Tonkotsu please, nesan" He told her without trying to make much eye contact, knowing his luck with girls lately, she would probably fall for his charm as well. Taichi finally understood what Yamato had gone through every time the two of them would go out for some snacks and catch up, he would always snicker as the waitress girls would try to flirt with Yamato and ignoring Taichi in the process. His bowl of noodles arrived soon enough, a cloudy broth from hours of cooking it in beef bones and large amount of beef fat making the broth feel like cream. The bowl consisted of crispy fried fish skin, pickled ginger, seaweed, mushrooms, and pieces of pork. When he was done his first bowl, Taichi ordered another and when he was done with his second he ordered three more. After the fifth bowl Taichi was finally satisfied, it had brought memories of home even though he was in his homeland but it felt so strange and foreign. He thank the girl who had now looked at him in awe, probably never had seen someone down so much ramen at once and paid her what he was due. Leaving the shop, Taichi saw that it was near noon, no doubt as many of the fishermen who were before selling their fish were now enjoying it themselves.

Waking down on the more busier streets, Taichi soon found himself in an area he had no expect to find, as he began to pass more and more geishas and soon geishas and other women with drunken men beside them. Taichi tried to hurry his pace but as if the Kami had laid some curse on Taichi, once again he found himself in a cliche scenario. As he was walking, he came upon what looked like a bar of some kind, as the words in front of him indicated and from the loud shouting. As soon as he was about to reach and past the main entrance in his haste to leave this area of the city, a body wrapped in an ornate red cloth with a pink water lily design came flying towards him and slide to a stop right at his feet were he stood. He knew who the body belong to right away, the girl had a beautiful and shiny set of chestnut hair, shining in the sunlight, again pulled into pigtails that very much reminded him of Lady Crowle.

Slapping his face, Taichi could not believe his luck, he had probably gotten himself involve with another pigtail beauty. The source of her torment soon came out of the bar, dressed in a simple blue yukata and a katana by his side, the men was no doubt a soldier hired by the prince for any future battles they would have with Daimon Masaru. The man's face was red from the effects of the many cups of sake he had drank and he looked down towards to girl as if Taichi was not there.

"You shofu, has your master not taught you yet how to pleasure a man? I am the third son of my Lord Ebishi of Baihaidao, Captain of the Prince's Second Corps, and future ruler of Chuan Lu. I will have you killed girl, you are not worth the ten yen I paid for and I will have much more pleasure from watching you scream of death than from your screams as I deflowered you!" The men yelled.

Taichi once again cursed the Kami for letting this happen to him, he would once again play the hero and once again another girl would cling to him. Stepping forward to block the girl from the angry soldier, Taichi became the target for the men. The drunken soldier eyed him, no doubt noticing the different clothing he was wearing compared to everyone else.

"Oh and what do we have here? A Peiro with such clothing trying to defend such a worthless shofu." He laughed as those who had now encircled the the group started laughing too, no doubt they were lesser ranked soldiers under the command the drunk.

"This girl has suffered already, I doubt a man such as yourself could pleasure a women anyways. Maybe that is why she was so horrible because the man was even worst." Taichi jested back, although he did not know why he did so in such manner as if his mouth was moving on its own.

"How dare you, do you know who I am?" The drunk's face became red, while Taichi merely smirked.

"Yes yes I heard, some third son from some back watered land, you father must have felt sorry for you and given you a city in replace of his dignity. However do you know who I am?"

"You? Ha, just some Peiro come to make me laugh and for me to test my kanata on." The drunked started to laugh, however there were no many who laughed with him as some soon came to realize who Taichi was.

"My Lord." One of the soldiers cautioned, "That is Prince Jianliang's Lord Captain, known as the Terror of Death. It is said he is even more fearsome then that of the Demon Lord, Diamon Masaru. I've heard tales that he had killed a thousand men by himself."

The drunk's face turn from red as a drunk to being flush as fear came over him, "You men." Taichi pointed to some of the soldiers who stopped laughing, "Have this so called son of Lord Horse-Dung be thrown into the city's prison, maybe those imprisoned men will teach this lord how to properly pleasure a girl." The men at once bow to Taichi and quickly held the drunken lord by his arms and dragged him off.

Taichi turn to the girl who was now tearing up. Sighing, Taichi bent his knees so he could get to the same level as the girl. "He will not hurt you anymore. If I may, can I know who you are?"

"Ami Kitajima Milord." She said in a soft voice between tears, "Please milord, do no return me to that pleasure house I beg of you, I will do anything, pleasure you daily and nightly my lord, my master has taught me well it was only my first time and I was scared."

Sighing once again, Taichi knew he had to take the girl with him now that she could not be returned to the bar. How would be explain this to Mimi, or his sister in fact. "I don't need a shofu, I have a beautiful wife I dare not betray. However, my third-in-command has complained lately that he needs an aid, someone to clean his room and cabins, someone to do his washings. Maybe you would like to be his washergirl?"

"Yes my lord, please it would be a great honour for me."

Taichi stood and looked to the remaining soldiers under the company of the drunk, "Take her to the south docks and call for Lord Davis of Liverpool. Tell him I've found him a washergirl. And do not lay a single finger on her or else I will have you all hanged." The men nodded, bowed, then guide the girl in the direction of where the Reliant was held at. Taichi then entered the bar, simply told the host that he was taking Ami and paid him a few pieces of Royal gold and left, trying to ignore the multiply half naked girls and the men they were with.

He arrived that night to find Mimi and his sister questioning where he was. Taichi did not want to tell them what had transpired that afternoon, so instead he had simply said he was trying to explore the city, which was replied with why had he not thought to bring the girls with him. However, the entire ruse was ruined when Davis had arrived soon after in a huff of breath and thank the captain for the new washergirl he had sent him.

"Captain!" Davis had called, "Thank you so much for sending Ami to me today. You don't know how much help she's going be, she's already cleaned my cabin and I've already had some of the sailers bring an extra bed to fit on the opposite side of my cabin although there only little space left. She's quite the looker too, you have a great eye Captain, she reminds me of Lady Crowle but she seems much more relaxed than shy Lady Crowle." Davis was grinning from ear to ear, failing to notice the glares the two girls were giving them, however Taichi did notice it and knew he would soon have to answer to them.

"Taichiiii!" Both girls called. "What does Davis mean by a washergirl that looks like Lady Crowle?" Mimi asked sweetly, too sweet for Taichi's liking.

"Well you see..." He looked to Davis for some help but Davis was still in a daydream state, no doubt dreaming about Ami and what he could do with her. Davis was a former Lord, having affairs Taichi knew was a common practice amongst the Lords because marriages were between old noble families, however as Davis had lost his lordship, he was free to do as he pleased. Maybe Taichi had indeed found a girl for his friend but only time would tell.

"I came across a fight and some drunken soldier was not satisfied with her, so I had her sent to Davis to aid him since he's been complaining lately."

"You mean to tell me you sent Davis a whore?" His sister asked, her gaze full of anger. Taichi found it weird that his sister would take offence, he knew that Davis had a huge crush on her back in his world, something that was dying before he came to this world as Davis was spending more time with Mimi, learning how to cook. As far as he knew, Davis and Hikari had not much time to spend with each other when they were on the ship as Davis was always busy with ship duty and yet this was the first time he had heard Hikari refer to Davis in anyway and she had refer to him as simply Davis and not Lord.

Davis sensing the malice that was coming from both girls, quickly thank Taichi once again and left with a hurried pace, firstly to get away from the two angry girls but no doubt to return to Ami.

Taichi however was left to deal with the girls but once again he was saved by a well time interruption. This time however was the Prince who called for him and not wanting to upset the Prince, Taichi excused himself from the girl but not before they had made it known to him that he was yet to be off the hook.

Taichi enter the castle's main meeting room, a large hall with the Prince at the head of the room sitting on his raised desk.

"You called for me Milord?" Taichi asked.

"Why yes Lord Captain. I have received word from my riders that Daimon Masaru has agreed to meet with you."

"I shall leave in the morning on board the Reliant." Taichi replied as he readied himself to leave.

"My Lord Captain, I believe it would be better to send you on board a smaller Ming ship, maybe a Tiger ship as a show of good will?" The Prince was right about it, the Reliant was a heavy ship, one hundred guns whereas a Tiger class ship had only twelve guns and was much speedier. A Tiger was a good means of escape if the meeting went wrong, the Reliant would be swamped with fire from all sides and would likely not escape without major damage. A Tiger however, was small and speedy, faster then any other ship with advance airship technology which the Ming had developed. Aside from the propeller which only Ming ships had, instead of one large balloon to keep the ship in air, the Ming had multiple small balloons lining each side of the ship covered with a giant balloon to look like any other airship but would be harder to sink than the ones currently employed by both Royal and Britannia.

The next morning, Taichi had gathered his reduced crew to journey with him to the eastern held capital. With him, he brought along Davis and Takato in case he needed back up from their Digimon, Takato's Gallentmon would be more then enough to take on what ever trouble they might come across. He had left Koushiro in charge of the Reliant and to act as his commander while he was away, he had convinced his sister too of staying at the Prince's castle. Mimi however was another case, Taichi had tried to convince her to stay but that was met with opposition and he knew that once her mind was set, there was no going back. Furthermore, Taichi knew she would somehow sneak onto the ship anyways as she had done when she was running away from King Osamu after she escape her marriage to had set sail at noon, Taichi held his Digivice, Agumon was better now but not to full strength and Taichi preyed to Kami he would not have the need to use his Digimon.


	40. Book 4 Chapter 6

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 6: Ko**cha

Warm liquid entered his mouth, it was somewhat refreshing on this very warm day but the palace was near enough to the ocean that a cool sea breeze could be felt once in a while. The taste was earthy but slightly bitter, no doubt who ever made this tea had over steeped it and turned a blind eye - there was no need to make good tea just to be served to the enemy. He found the people he had so far met rather resentful towards him; resented him for the fact that he was here to take away their new found freedom.

They called themselves Japanese, they named their new capital city Edo - Tokyo; and they called their warriors armed with great and sharp katanas, Samurai. Taichi felt inwardly he too should be fighting with these people, they were his people after all - he was Japanese. Yet he had to remind himself he was not part of this world and even though he was commissioned to fight Japan, it would do him best if he did not invest himself with the true outcome of this war. His way was through peace and if the Prince asked him to fight then he would do so only with the intention of defending himself and taking away the arms of those who mean him harm.

Setting his empty cup down, steam still coming from what was once hot tea, was now replaced with hot air. Tokyo was the same as he remembered it, still filled with people hurrying about, still with large streets hard to pass - albeit without the large building from the time where he was from. He was currently sitting in a small room, no larger than five tatami mats at most and himself being served tea, it reminded him of the room where Sora and Mimi had their first tea ceremony but instead a homely girl, with long black hair, no older then his sister but not as clumsy and must more refined in the art of the tea ceremony.

Once the tea had been served the girl left and afterwards came in a man much older than Taichi, he wore a simple yukata and sported a pair of glasses. His face was gentle and his smile calming.

"Lord Masaru is ready to see you now Lord Captain." The man stooped to Taichi's sitting level and bowed his head to the ground in a show of respect for the captain.

"Davis. Takato. With me." He announced, he saw the face Mimi was making when she realized she was not going to be included in the meeting. Taichi ignored it in the fear that he did not want to make her any more angry - Taichi knew from tradition that woman were not allowed into the Emperor of Japan's meeting hall and he was simply following traditions that was in his blood.

The group met their Digimon waiting outside of their small room as it was far too small to fit two large Mega Level Digimon and Agumon simply wanted to hang with his own kind. Their walk to the meeting hall was a quite one, Davis and Takato were probably nervous due to the enormity of their task. They enter the hall, it reminded Taichi very much of the Emperor of Ming's hall and the hall of Kyoto Castle Prince Jianliang was currently presiding. It was just as big and just as grand, if not grander than the Emperor's meeting all - Taichi had been told that Edo Castle belong to the former Emperor of Japan before their line disappeared into the Ming's.

A man sat cross legged on a small cushion at the far end of the hall, the floors were made of tatami mats which no doubt would make it more comfortable to sit on compared to a hard wood floor. The men had his head stomp on one of his arm acting as support, he was waring a fine looking yukata with red and orange flames as its design. His face had a scowl, his long deep brown hair was warped into a small pony tail but still made his hair look longer than most hair man his age wore. He look no older than Taichi himself and he had a muscular appearance from what Taichi could tell from looking at his one exposed arm.

As Taichi made his way closer to the boy, he could see that his eye brow lift in a questioning look at Agumon, "An Agumon…" Taichi heard Masaru mumble trying not to be heard by the approaching party. His questioning look soon turn to a frown when Taichi noticed Masaru's eye made his way past him and onto the two large Digimon acting as their backup. "Royal Knights?" Taichi heard Masaru say and saw his teeth clutched.

"Lord Taichi de Basse Normandie and his Digimon Agumon. Former Lord of Liverpool and Magnamon. Private Takato and Gallentmon. Daimon-sama." The kindly man bow to Masaru and then recovered to a standing position to leave.

"What is the meaning of this!" Masaru yelled. "What are the Royal Knights doing in Japan? Is Yggdrasil trying to take this world like mine?" Masaru was now standing as he shouted.

_Mine?_ Taichi was confused but he already knew Masaru was not of this world when the Prince told him of his Digivice and now hearing his anger confirmed that to Taichi.

"Digital World!" Taichi said on impulse, Masaru stopped, it looked as though he was ready to punch one them; Masaru's fist was grasp by his free hand, a gesture Taichi knew all to well from seeing street fights. Masaru's eyes widened when he heard what Taichi had said.

The Digital World was not something someone from this world would have know, Taichi had asked Koushiro once what the word Digimon meant. Unlike Digital Monsters, Digimon simply meant Digi's Monster. Koushiro explained that long ago during the mythical Age of Hero, the first human to summon a Digimon partner was the heroic Digi. With the help of Alphamon they were able to defeat the evil witch Medusa.

"How do you know about the Digital World? Answer me, are you a pawn of Yggdrasil's?" He looked at Taichi angrily.

"My name is Yagami Taichi, from Odaiba. I was sent here when I was checking out an strange signal in the Digital World." Taichi ignored any looks from his two companions would have given him. He would answer to their questions later, he had to find out if this Masaru was also from the Real World.

"Odaiba? Does Odaiba have also have a DATS devision?"

"DATS?" Taichi replied questionly. Taichi had no idea what DATS was.

"Digital Accident Tactics Squad, the Japanese branch is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Confidentiality. I wasn't aware we had another branch inside Japan, I thought we were the only one, that is including the American and European branches." Masaru explained while returning to his previous sitting position, nothing like the mood he was in before.

"No I'm not part of DATS, I'm one of the original Digidestined."

"Digidestined?" Masaru's voice became a higher pitch as to imply a questioning tone. Although the identities of the Digidestined were not wildly know in the Real World - the fact that he had been able to live a normal life was a blessing - but what the Digidestined did and how they save both the Digital World and the Real one was virtually in every newspaper, television, and book.

"Daimon-san, what year is it from where you came from?"

"I was in the Digital World for five years before I fell through that portal, so I'll have to say it should be 2011." Daimon replied thoughtfully. It was now Taichi's turn to become shocked, Daimon was a whole seven year from the time he came to this world.

"Eleven years into the future." Taichi mumbled.

"But its still odd, in the year 2000 the Digidestined are widely known, how is it that you nor DATS know about the original eight?" Taichi asked once again.

"A wide number of humans have Digimon partners but its up to DATS to keep the world at peace. I don't know about the Digidestined since I've only been at DATS for a short amount of time but it may have something to do with Yggdrasil's plan."

"Yggdrasil?" It was now Taichi's turn to ask questions, "Do you mean the god of this world?" Taichi remembered the old man in Madras preaching about the god that many in this world worship but he had forgotten the details and made no effort in remembering them. All he knew was that Yggdrasil was a figurehead of this world and many a people worshipped him.

Masaru nodded, "Except in my time Yggdrasil was a supercomputer god of the Digital World and had planned on whipping humans off of both the Real and Digital world."

"How is that possible, Azulongmon and the other guardians were the gods of the Digital World."

"I've never heard about these Guardians, only that Yggdrasil wanted humans gone." Daimon finally rose from his sitting position. "Let's not dwell too much on this, you're hear to take back Japan are you not? Even though your Japanese, you would sell your own people to the Ming?"

Davis stepped forward this time, "I don't understand what you guys were talking about but Captain Taichi is a true born Royal noble, this is the first time he's seen this forsaken country!" Taichi notice the dark look Masaru was giving Davis.

"It's true that I'm Japanese." Taichi put a hand on Davis to reassure him he knew what he was doing, "But as someone from the Real World, it is not our place to interfere with the on goings of this world. I'm trying to find a way home and I offer you the same if you are to join me Masaru-san."

Masaru looked angry, as if he was about to explode into a fist fight with Taichi - so he prepared himself, there was no telling what kind of delinquent someone named "Big Problem" would be. However what Taichi did receive was not the punch he was expecting, instead a girl's voice called out stopping Masaru's anger and surprising Taichi in the process.

"Taichi-san!" Taichi looked in the direction of the voice as other too turn to face the girl. Taichi was surprise to see who it was, a girl his age, with short shoulder length light brown hair that made it look amber when the sun shone on it and deep brown eyes. Instead of the skirt he remember her wearing all time as part of her school uniform, she was outfitted with a short dark blue kimono making feel as a short skirt no doubt giving her more movement compared to the more traditional ones that Taichi knew of.

"Rei…" Taichi breathed, then with a dramatic and deep commanding voice said, "Saiba Rei!"

"Hai Taichi-san." She replied in her usual preppy voice, "I didn't expect you to be in this world too! Zeromaru and I were having a nice walk on File Island one day when the next thing I knew I was here with Masaru-san."

Saiba Rei had been a Digidestined his age and in his class during his first year of High School. She had received her Veemon, which she later named Zeromaru, during the first Diaboromon incident and had been there to help the rest of the world's Digidestined during Myotismon's return. Although she only made herself known to Taichi and the other members once they had entered High School. She reminded him a lot about Sora when they first met but over time she proved herself have a little bit of Mimi in herself too. If Miyako did not receive both the Digimental of Love and Sincerity, Rei might have been a perfect candidate.

"Daimon-san, you can trust Taichi. He was the one I was telling you about."

"So you're the infamous Crest of Courage hmm?" Masaru slapped a fist into an open palm.

"Masaru-san, this is not the time to prove you are better than Taichi. We have more important things to talk about but I think we should take Taichi's offer." Rei snapped back at Masaru and he merely huffed. "I think it is best you think it over Masaru-san and we can come up with a plan tomorrow with Taichi. For now." Rei instantly grabbed Taichi's arm, "We have some catching up to do!"

Back in Odaiba he had never really gotten to know Rei. Although now a Digidestined, Rei was never part of their original group and therefore was not part of their main group of friends during high school. Yet, Taichi remembered that before he had been transported to this world, their group of friends were already falling apart, Jyou had spent his time studying to get into the medical program in ToDai and Sora had been spending much of her time playing tennis, working with her mother at her flower shop, and spending time with her boyfriend Matt - leaving little time for her to spend with her other friends. The only people Taichi had often found himself was with Koushiro and Mimi, but Koushiro had many after school clubs with running the computer club and helping to manage the soccer club like he had back when Koushiro and Taichi were on their middle school soccer team. Therefore, many of his afternoons was spent walking with Mimi until they reach the train station where she would board her train home and himself walking only a few more blocks to reach his apartment. Rei although part of the same high school was in another class compared to the majority of their group but had spent some of her lunch hours with the rest of them and had become good friends with Sora and Mimi; Sora because they looked alike and Mimi because of their abnormal fondness for all things cute.

Rei had led the two of them to a little courtyard, to a little red gazebo located on a island in the centre of the little koi pond the courtyard hosted. There was a small stone table in the gazebo, a place that was once used by the Imperial family to have their dinner outside on nice days such as this. Rei had dragged Taichi onto one of the stone stools while plucking herself onto one across from where Taichi sat. Rei was smiling from ear to ear, Taichi was the first to open his mouth.

"Rei-san, how is it that you are also in this world?"

"Hehe, you sure have changed Taichi-san, more mature and dignify looking with that jacket on." She continued to grin, "As to how I got here…" She put a finger to her mouth which made an pondering look, "Like I said, I was having a nice walk on File Island. Well Gennai had ask me to keep an eye out for some strange signals, but anyways, the next thing I knew, I fell down some hole and ended up in the middle of one of Daimon-san's fights. I saw his Digivice Burst and assumed he was also from our world."

"Digivice Burst?" Taichi mumbled to himself quietly, Rei did not catch what he had said. It was true Taichi had thought, that in years to come from the original Digidestined, new technology would have appeared and a new generation of Digivice would be a result of that. The D3 was something new to him still and he would of liked to see Masaru's next generation of Digivice in action.

"So Taichi-san, you never told me how you got here of all place." She questioned him, still in her playful grin, her hands holding up her head as if she was a child expecting story time.

"The same as you, except through some uncontrollable circumstances, I've been made Lord Captain of one of Royal's airships." Taichi replied recounting all the events that had led to the point of their meeting.

"mmmhhh." She hummed sweetly, "It's not fair Taichi-san, you always get all the fun. First the Original Digidestined and now being Lord Captain. I wish I can on adventures like you."

"Rei-san, its not all fun and games…" Taichi was now trying to calm the girl down, but she had become too excitable and was ready to leap onto the table and declare her love of adventure.

"That's it Taichi-san!" She exclaimed as she infact did jump onto the table, but with one foot on the table top and one foot supporting her from below as it was planted on her chair seat. "I'm coming with you and if Masaru doesn't like it then too bad!"

The continue to talk with one another until the late hours of the night, as fireflies began to illuminate all around them, surrounding the two in multiply star like lights. If it were not for the fireflies, then Taichi would have noticed a pair of eyes concentrating on himself and Rei, and then a bright green light that pulsed from the necklace of the spy and finally, the pair of eyes that had been watching them had gone pale. Instead, Taichi bid the girl from his world a good night and headed to his guest room, falling onto the bed without noticing the lack his wife's body beside himself. And it too was the same the morning after where he woke up excited to hear Masaru's decision in which Taichi again failed to notice where his wife was or the fact that she was still not sleeping in bed like usual at this early time of the morning.

Taichi made his way to the main hall where Daimon Masaru had changed it to fit his needs as the rebel leader, Taichi found Davis and Takato outside the doorway for him to arrive. The three nodded their heads not before the two lower ranked bowed and saluted their Lord Captain. With their Digimon by their side, the three men enter the room which housed Masaru.

Rei was standing beside Masaru, still in her short kimono but this time a more traditional pink background with white flowers as its patterns. Masaru stood up from the desk he was currently sitting on and declared, "I've decided. I'll only follow you if you can beat me in a Digimon Battle. Let's see who has the stronger Agumon!"

Taichi frowned but he had no choice, it was the only peaceful solution Taichi could think of, "And what if you are the victor?"

"Simple, you will be escorted out of Japan and vow never to come back."

Taichi nodded in agreement and then said, "Let us begin shall we?"

Daimon Masaru once again cracked his fist as Rei escorted all of them out of the castle, a clearing not far from one of the castle's hidden entrances was soon decided upon. Masaru held out his Digivice and yelled, "Agumon Realize!" This Agumon Taichi took note, was not unlike his but it looked bigger, its grin showed more teeth, his claws were longer and it had a red strap accessory tied to each of his hands.

"Mou aniki, I was having a good sleep, why did you wake me." This Agumon seemed to be much younger compared to Taichi's own and less mature as he was referring to Masaru as a boss of a gang. Although Taichi had thought, Masaru did somewhat act like a yakuza boss from what he had seen of him so far.

"Taichi." Taichi's own Agumon started, "Let's show them who's the better Agumon!" Taichi smiled at his Digimon, it seemed as though his illness the last few weeks had no effect on him and he was getting back to his normal ways. Taichi's smile soon turned to a grin as he acknowledged his partner and held a stance ready to fight.

"Oh, I've never seen another Agumon before." Masaru's Agumon stated, then from his pondering looked, he too smirked as if to say he was ready to beat his doppleganger.

"Alright Agumon, let's show them what you made of!"

Masaru's Agumon gave an "auu" to sound his agreement. Masaru held his Digivice in his left hand, to Taichi it looked completely different than his own, whereas Taichi's Digivice was somewhat of an octagon shape, Masaru's looked like a small box, dark grey in colour with orange trims, similar to some of the new phones Taichi had once seen while passing through Akihabara.

Taichi too readied his Digivice and once again he felt the familiar warmth of his former crest of courage, something that was lacking when he tried to evolve Agumon during the time of these disease. What happened next was like nothing Taichi had seen before. Masaru had raised his other hand as a bright orange flame surrounded it, Taichi then saw the familiar letters of Digicode appear in the flame. Masaru quickly brought his flame risen hand down and slammed it into his Digivice.

"Digisoul Charge. OVERDRIVE!" Masaru screamed as the bright orange light now surround both himself and Agumon.

"Agumon sinka!" As the light disappeared, instead of the little dinosaur Agumon, there stood the newly evolved Mega Digimon. It was unlike anything Taichi had seen before. Crimson armour covering the top of the Digimon, a pair of crimson metallic wings - six blade like wings on each side, the lower half of his armour was white, it's tail had a golden ring with spikes, and it's head reminded him of Wargreymon's but covered in a golden colour.

"ShinGreymon!" It called a deep voice, nothing like the squeaky voice of his rookie form.

Taichi held his Digivice tightly in his fist and called toward his Agumon as his Digivice began to glow its familiar orange and shake violently. However, as Taichi was pointing his Digivice at his Agumon, he failed to see the digicode which spelled Error again but this time it was quickly replaced by a large **_X_** on the screen.

"Agumon shinka…" What did notify Taichi that something had gone terribly wrong was that Agumon started to scream in agony yet unlike last time the orange light that surrounded his Digimon did not stop but increase into a large flame.

"Agumon!" Taichi called towards his Digimon.

"What's going on!" "Masaru?" Both Masaru and ShineGreymon questioned as they look on towards their opponents.

"Aggghhhh!" Agumon continue to scream. Taichi clutched his Digivice harder, still in shock.

"Taichi-san!" "Captain Taichi!" The other's called in worry.

What happened next again surprised Taichi but the others were shocked too. The orange flame continue to become larger and brighter, the familiar digicode which Taichi saw in Masaru's hand now appeared. Soon Taichi's own Digivice was enveloped in a new flame which the Digivice itself produced.

"Agumon shinka!" Agumon's voice was not in pain anymore, it sounded to Taichi as Agumon had received a great amount of power. The flame burn rapidly then dispersed as if it never happened. There, in the middle of the open field where Agumon had once stood was a new Digimon, it looked very much like Wargreymon. However instead of the familiar yellow armoured Digimon stood one that, instead of the round yellow armour was clad in a new, more bulky orange armour and as the morning sun shone on it, it began to glow with light. And instead of the two claws which Wargreymon sported, instead on his right arm, held a larger, longer, and more powerful claw. The other arm held the same weapon, but to Taichi it looked as though it was in a retract position, acting more as a shield.

"Wargreymon X!"


	41. Book 4 Chapter 7

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 7: Ajisai**

He took a deep breath and sucked in the sweet smell of the summer air, with the many flowers that were in bloom, it reminded him of the perfume Mimi had wore everyday to school back in the Real World. It was summer but the temperature was not blazing hot nor the humidity choking him as he was used to in the big mega city. This Tokyo was much different than the one he knew, gone were the skyscrapers and the endless sea of people, instead it was only a small fishing village which hosted one of the many royal castles the Ming imperial family had once owned.

"Poseidon Force!" Taichi's nose now replaced the smell of flowers and breathed in a slight salty smell of sea water. It was then he realized that this smell came from his Digimon, as it had gathered water from it's surroundings and moulded it into a giant ball of swirling water. He was still getting used to his new Digimon. In actuality it was really his old Digimon gaining new armour and new attacks but he had been partners with Agumon and his mega form since his middle school days, the summer when they first became aware of the Digital World; he was not used to seeing WarGreymon this powerful. Even longer when he remembered his past with Koromon when they were both essentially babies. He knew the ins and outs of his Digimon, when it was time for Wargreymon to struck and when it was time for them to take a defensive position in fights. However something had happened, Taichi did not know what but the end result was that Wargreymon became stronger. Stronger and out of sync with each other. It was Taichi's job as his Digimon's partner to direct his Digimon to where and how to attack but he did not know the characteristics of this new Digimon.

Wargreymon hurled the giant ball of water at his counterpart, while Masaru's ShineGreymon merely swung his sword at Wargreymon's attack and sliced the water ball in half. Taichi looked on gobsmacked, he had never seen a Digimon like Masaru's ShineGreymon, it as more powerful than his own mega even though it came from the same rookie and it was much larger, faster; everything was better compared to Wargreymon X.

"Ha!" Masaru laughed, "Is that the best you got Taichi-san?"

"WarGreymon! Keep at it, we'll show him who's better." Taichi called out ignoring Masaru's taunts.

WarGreymon again took his attacking stance, concentrating on collecting the energy around him like he did with his previous attack. Except this time was not a whirl of water, instead a bright orange light began shining upon the humans below like the sun had shown for millions of years. The ball of bright orange energy grew bigger and bigger, it was nearly the same size has Wargreymon's previous Poseidon Force, at least three times as large as both the Digimon.

"Gaia Force ZERO!" Wargreymon called as he threw the giant ball of energy at ShineGreymon. It did not have time to ready himself and his sword to counter the attack again.

Yet Taichi could tell Masaru had expected this and called out his own moves to his Digimon. Shaking it's head after it took a peak at his partner, ShineGreymon flew right at the ball of fire and launched his own attack to minimize the damage from Wargreymon's attack.

"Glorious Burst!" It called as a small collection of fire energy began forming in one of his hands. As the energy grew bigger, Shinegreymon simply pushed his attack right into the oncoming one from Wargreymon. As the two attacks met, it took a few seconds before the smoke cleared to show both Digimon had not taken much damage.

However ShineGreymon was not expecting Wargreymon to follow up his fireball attack with his signature drill attack. In a feeble spiral, Wargreymon called out "Dramon Killer!" as he became closer and closer to his target. If it were not for his experience fighting the Royal Knights back in the real world, ShineGreymon surely would have been seriously injured but at the last second, ShineGreymon was able to gather himself and deflect the attack with the side of his GeoGrey Sword.

After the failed attack, Wargreymon again distanced himself away from Shinegreymon, readying for another parry between his Dramon Killers blades as Shinegreymon too brought his GeoGrey Sword in front of himself in a readied stance. As the two Digimon started to gather and enhance their natural fire energy, they were brought to a halt as someone came screaming for Masaru.

"Daimon-sama, Daimon-sama!" A servent came running to the forest clearing Taichi and the group had occupied for their little sparring competition. The servant was in a visible huff, no doubt tired out trying to find Masaru. The servant came to a stop as he fell to his knees and hands, tired from running all the way from the castle. "There is grave news Daimon-sama! 40 Ming Airships have been spotted, they're heading right for us! 20 Tigers, 15 Phoenix, and 5 Dragons."

Masaru turned to Taichi, "What is the meaning of this, I thought this was a peaceful negotiation?" Masaru was now visibly mad, Taichi had become the target of his wrath.

Before Taichi could speak up, Rei interrupted, "That's strange, usually when the Prince attacks, he has a Turtle Class command centre and we have no word if that's been spotted. It must mean that some other lord is attacking without the knowledge of the Ming royal family or they're choosing to ignore it."

Although Taichi did not know the Prince or his family very well, Taichi felt the prince was not likely someone who would betray his word. The prince had personally came to South Wales to ask Taichi for his services and it was unlikely he would go through all that trouble just to betray Taichi's trust.

"Masaru-san. Rei-san. I don't think it's the prince who order this attack and I know he would not ruin his honour by betraying us like that. There's something strange about this. The Prince knows you have a mega level Digimon, even if he had sent a hundred airships it would not be enough to stop you." Taichi then turned to the others, "Davis, you and Takato will take care of both flanks of the attacking airships, I want you to only disable their propellor systems, do not kill anyone is that understood?" Taichi could afford to trust his second and third mates, as even if they did somehow screw up it was unlikely for them to sink an Ming airship as they were the only ships in the world to apply multiply ballast technology thus far.

Davis and Takato both gave Taichi a military salute. Then they relayed the order to their Digimon as it was them who would be the ones to do the fighting. The two mega level Digimon immediately flew off to meet the unknown fleet of airships as their human partners ran after them to get a better look at the on coming battle and to be ears length so that their can shout their orders.

Taichi then turn his eye to Rei. "Rei-san, do you still have your D3 and Zeromaru?" Taichi asked in a serious voice Rei had not heard since the final battle against Myotismon.

"Yes of course. Although Zeromaru is probably still sleeping in the stables." Rei relied.

"Get Zeromaru ready. Masaru-san, you, Rei and myself shall try and find who's behind all this." Masaru simply looked at Taichi statically. If it were up to Masaru himself, he would have simply rushed in and destroyed every last airship but Taichi had thought this through and was trying to cause the least amount of blood shed. Masaru gave Taichi some respect for that.

Rei took out her D3 Digivice and shouted at it. "Oi you lazy mon, get up, we have a fight to attend!"

A child like voice could be heard from her Digivice, "hmmm…but Rei, I'm hungry."

"This is no time for that! You can get food after, I promise to buy you an ice cream sandwich." Rei shouted back, no doubt a lie in Taichi's mind as this was feudal Japan and the likelihood of finding an ice cream sandwiches was slime to none. Then again, weirder things had happened to Taichi since he had entered this world. He had once spent a day in the city of Central and came across a shop selling football equipment, mind you not the same advance technology as the one from his world but still shocking none the less to find it in an city equivalent to seventeen hundreds Paris.

As soon as Zeromaru, a Veemon came running towards the remain three humans with mega level Digimon, Rei drew up her Digivice and a familiar air of concentration surrounded her. Her D3 began to glow an azure blue.

"Veemon shinka!" The blue light surrounded her rookie Digimon and was soon replaced by a large blue dragon human Digimon. Azure blue chromedigizoid armour surrounded the Digimon, golden trim to outline his armour. A pair of large wings appeared behind it as it unfolded.

"UlforceVeedramon!"

If Taichi had not known better, it was as if this was the first time Masaru had seen Rei's Digimon's mega form. Taichi thought he heard Masaru whisper to himself.

"Another Royal Knight…what's going on here?" Taichi heard Masaru mumble. Taichi realized that it must have been the first time Masaru had seen Rei's Veemon's mega form. He would have to uncover their stories at a later date.

Deciding that Masaru was not concentrating too much on the events that were unfolding, Taichi took control of the situation. "Come on, we have to hurry. If the airships get into the city, they'll probably attack the people. We can't allow such a disaster to occur!"

Nodding their heads in compliance, Rei offered a hand to Taichi as they both hoped onto UlforceVeedramon's shoulders as WarGreymon was too small to carry Taichi and would be their advanced force if they were to be fired upon. Masaru quickly did the same and hoped onto his Digimon's out stretched hand.

The flight was short and they came upon the outlines of the group of airships soon enough. The sound of gunpowder going off as cannon balls flew towards both Magnamon and Gallentmon, they were already attacking both flanks of the ships, trying to draw attention away from Taichi's group. Taichi knew a common practice for both navel and air battle was to have the commanding ship at the centre of the group. Since there was no gigantic Turtle Class warship, this meant that more likely one of the dragon class was being used as command central. Taichi quickly ruled out the two large dragon class on each flank of fleet, they were currently being taken care of by both Davis and Takato. Then Taichi spotted three dragons at the back of the fleet, having WarGreymon use his Dramon Killers to quickly fly past the ships that were blocking the dragons and destroy their propellors. Those that were not disabled by WarGreymon were soon dealt with by the sword of ShineGreymon.

Finally UlforceVeedramon soon came upon the three dragon class, while WarGreymon had already disabled their propellor systems. Upon closer look, Taichi was able to figure out the middle ship had a flag designating which fleet it was from. It was a strange flag Taichi had never seen before. A red seven point star, glowing in white, and a background of dark blue. It was familiar with Taichi but he could not recall where he had seen it before.

"Hokkaido." Rei slowly said, "That's the Northern Fleet of the Riban province. What's it doing here?"

It was then Taichi remembered. The man he had imprisoned was the third son of the Lord of Hokkaido. Was this revenge for him imprisoning his son or maybe the third son had escape from prison and was now seeking Taichi out for what he had done to him. Taichi had Rei order UlfroceVeedragon to circle above the ship and then shouted to WarGreymon to land onto the ship and take care of anyone who had a weapon on them. When they had finally become close enough to land, Taichi saw that WarGreymon had indeed done his job and the soldiers were visibly frightened.

Once Taichi lept from UlfroceVeedramon's shoulders, he order the soldiers to bring for who was in charge of the ship. The soldiers having been told Taichi was under direct orders from the Emperor himself quickly went below deck and brought out a man who they had claimed was the commander of the fleet. Taichi recognized the man. The same man who had tried to kill Ami, the girl Taichi saved and had given to Davis as a washer girl. This man was the third son of the Lord of Hokkaido, a man Taichi had come to despise.

"What is the meaning of this!" Taichi shouted, "How is it that this rat got himself freed? I want answers now or all you of will be put to death as treason to the Emperor himself!"

"My Lord Captain," One of the soldiers slow said. "We do not know, only that the Captain was came back to us the other day telling us the Emperor had freed him and gave the order to attack Dongjing. We were merely following orders my Lord Captain." The soldier plead.

Taichi turned to the man who was the third son of the Lord of Hokkaido. "Who told you to attack!" Taichi rushed to him and picked him up by his collar, "Tell me now or I'll have you hanged!"

"My my Taichi-san, I didn't know you had such anger within you." Taichi's eyes went wide as he dropped the man he was holding. Taichi knew the voice, he could tell who it was even before she had finished with her first word. His mind went into overdrive, trying to figure out how it was possible, how was she here, where was she before. Taichi turned to her as all eyes were now on her. She was dressed as she was always dressed.

"Mimi…" Taichi whispered. He noticed her eyes were paled, void the chestnut colour that he came to love. _What was going on_?

"Why yes Taichi, have you finally noticed that I was gone? Has that Ami girl been pleasing you or did your dreams of young Lady Crowle satisfy you or was it the witch standing next to you who has replaced me?" She spat cruelly.

"Mimi what's gotten into your head?" Taichi asked. This was out of character for Mimi, even though she sometimes had shown her jealousy towards the other girls that were trying to gain his favour, he had often reaffirmed his love for her, which was usually followed by hours sitting with each other. However, this Mimi was not the Mimi he knew, this was a green eyed monster and not his Mimi at all.

"Mimi why are you here…how are you here?" Taichi asked once again.

Mimi simply smiled her cruel smile and began to mock Taichi, "Does my dear husband care when his little play thing comes into danger? Were you not worried about myself? If you were to care than it is easy. I am the one who freed this man from his imprisonment and on the promise of my body and your blood, I ordered him to attack this little hell hole. Dear, dear husband, you will finally feel the pain I have felt once you have gone to the world beyond."

"Mimi…I…I don't understand." Taichi was caught in between his words, he was confused, he did not know what had happened to Mimi and he blamed himself for not paying attention to her as he should. Mimi's face did not change, still smiling and still cruel.

The next movement by Mimi surprised everyone, as no one had noticed her back away from Taichi and the others, with one motion she lept from the edge of the airship. Taichi and the others quickly ran after her and stopped as they near the edge of the ship. They could only see Mimi's figure becoming smaller and smaller as she accelerated towards the ground beneath. As they watched Mimi, they were not able to see a figure moving at a high speed from their corner of their eyes until the figure was near the body of Mimi and swooped her into it's blue and bronze out stretched hands.

"Dynasmon!" Masaru stated as his eyes turned into a frown. "Another Royal Knight. What's going on here?" Masaru wondered out loud, no doubt he was talking to himself in frustration. Masaru turned to Taichi, "Taichi-san, we have to go after them. This is some how all connected to Yggdrasil, I'm fairly certain now."

Taichi nodded, still confused to as what Masaru meant by Yggdrasil. Yet with everything that had happened, Yggdrasil was the one thing that kept coming up again and again. Masaru must had known something which Taichi did not and Taichi was sure he himself wanted answers more than anyone else. Getting up upon UlfroceVeedramon, the three Digimon all flew after the mysterious white armoured Digimon. The northern fleet had been disabled and if any more trouble would come up, Taichi was sure Takato or Davis could easily handled it.

They followed. Followed past the city which Masaru had conquered, past the rising ocean, until they came upon an island where Mimi and the white knight could be seen landing at. There was no one now to interfere with them getting answers but Taichi was still worried. It seemed as Mimi and the knight had lead them here on purpose. Taichi kept a wide eye for any sneak attacks and reminded Rei and Masaru to do the same. The island had a deep tropical forest but was small enough for Taichi to figure out it would take no less than ten minutes to walk across the entire island. The three landed by the beach and reverted back to their rookie forms, tired from all the fighting and chasing.

The group found their way to a clearing to see the white knight standing with his arms crossed, clearly not satisfied with the lack of fighting he had witnessed. Taichi's eyes soon landed on Mimi, the clearing had a ceiling of trees blocking the morning light but as if it were from one of the many movies Taichi had seen before, a patch of light shown on the sitting figure of Mimi. She was still beautiful in his mind, both her hands lifting her head in support, looking as though she was tired of waiting for Taichi to find her. Taichi's eyes soon went wide as he looked upon what she was sitting on. Rusted metal as vines entangled it, the forest was reclaiming it but Taichi could still see very well what it was. It looked as though it had been there for years, it glass cockpit all broken from the impact. It's propellor bent and broken. It's wings were twisted but still usable.

The Iron Dragon.


	42. Book 4 Chapter 8

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 8: Twilight**

Her eyes were still pale, her iris wide as the moon, and her voice song like.

_Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born…_

_After the stars doth cross the heavens,_

_The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning._

_From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes._

Mimi sang, her voice began to change from her sweet voice of which Taichi would wake up to everyday, to one that he did not recognize. She sang on.

_Riding the wake is The Terror of Death, to drown all that stands__._

_Mirage of Deceit, Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave._

_And by the The Propagation, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens, and creates a new Wave._

_With the Wave, The Prophet, the power to tell the dark future, hope darkens, sadness and despair rule._

_The Machinator schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave._

_The Temptress seduces with the sweet trap._

_Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. The Avenger still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy._

_And with the turbulent destruction after the Wave. Only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Rebirth._

_Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well._

She finished her song, her mouth turned into a smile. Those who had witness her songs became confused, unknown to why she sang this song, while the words had no meaning to them.

"Confused she asked? A poem once read to me by my creator, appropriate to you all." The same cruel smile again plastered her face, Taichi came to despise this new face. Once he had loved seeing her smile; now this smile was haunting, his stomach turned whenever she would smile. "Yagami Taichi - The Terror of Death, to understand why humans fear death. Daimon Masaru - The Machinator, to understand why humans are cruel. Saiba Rei - The Temptress, to understand why humans feel affection. Mimi de L'Alsace - The Mirage of Deceit, to understand why humans react to deceit." She pointed to every one of them.

She continued, "Davis of Liverpool - The Propagation, to understand why humans have the need to procreate. Izumi di Montague - The Prophet, to understand why humans believe in fate. Osamu de France Unis - The Avenger, to understand why humans have dark emotions. And finally The Rebirth - To understand human innocence."

They were confused as ever but they allowed Mimi to continue. Taichi felt as though Mimi was posed, he had never seen Mimi like this - her voice which was once sweet as the freshest of morning dew, was now empty and emotionless.

"Every one of you I choose. Every one of you have become my puppet, to be my eyes and ears, to supply me the understanding of human emotion. Some did not exist within this world. I brought those who best suited my needs from other worlds, to feed my hunger of why humans continue to exist. You have defeated me once, I did not understand humans then, but now i have seen from the eyes of each one of you. I understand the processes of humans - I understand your fears, your lies, your helplessness, your urges, your hate, your darkness, your lust, your innocence. Humans are disgusting creatures, then and now I shall continue to see you as the future destruction of Digimon."

"Your Yggdrasil aren't you?" Masaru shouted at Mimi. Again Mimi merely smiled.

"Daimon Masaru. I entrusted your world to you because you bested me in battle. You bested me because I did not understand but now I do, I see everything you see and feel everything you feel. I am human, I am a super computer, I am a god, I am Yggdrasil NEO."

"Marasu-san, what is going on here?" Taichi asked.

Daimon Masaru had a deep scowl on his face but continued to explain to Taichi who Yggdrasil really was, "A super computer that turned into a god. Yggdrasil believed humans were responsible for all the evils in the Digital World. That's why, he had his loyal servants, the Royal Knights destroy the Real World."

Rei huffed, "That's terrible Masaru-kun!" She brought her hand up to cover her mouth in shock.

"Yea but we, that is DATS were able to stop the Royal Knights and some even turned their backs at Yggdrasil to helped us stop him."

"I had underestimated raw human emotions." Yggdrasil replied with Mimi's now monotoned voice, "To think my loyal knights would betray me, to think it was human emotion that corrupted them."

"That's why I'm shocked that your group and Rei-san too had Digimon that belong to the Royal Knights. Though it seems that they're the good guys this time, only that Dynasmon had still remained loyal to Yggdrasil to the very end." Masaru interrupted. Taichi was finally piecing everything together though he still had many questions.

"That's where you are wrong Daimon Masaru." Mimi laughed, "It was human emotion that betrayed me in your world and it will be human emotion to betray you in this. These Royal Knights are not the same as those who fought along side you, I allow them to exist in this world, to serve my need to understand you humans. That is why I gave them to those who were closest to you, Yagami Taichi. You are the centre piece to my plans and that is why I had brought you to this world, a world missing both a hero and a monster. I made you the Terror of Death, you save others by killing those who bring harm. People fear you, they do not understand why you have killed so many, you yourself do not know. I even implanted your Digimon with a termination program expecting to kill your Digimon - to test how a heartless killer such as yourself would react to the death of a close one but it had developed an antibody which I did not foresee. However, with a dying Digimon by your side, I still was able to learn from the data I have collected from your emotions. And thus I have brought you here, the place that you have been seeking all this time, a way home. You have all been useful and I thank you by granting your wish - to go home."

Mimi turned her pale eyes towards Masaru, "To satisfy your curiosity, this Dynasmon is also from another world, a world of a false god, a devil pretending to be an angel. He failed his god and was punished by betrayal. I brought him here, where his loyalty truly mattered, to prove himself to a real god."

"What do you plan on doing by learning about us humans?" Taichi asked calmly. "Do you intend to kill all humans as you tried in Masaru-san's world?"

"A wise question Yagami Taichi. No, this world's Digimon have been far too tainted by humans. Rather, since humans already worship me as a god, then their god will finally allow them paradise. A world without lies, a world with out desire, a world without emotion. A world that does not think but think of only what they are told. Singularity!" Mimi replied. "And it will be those that this world has betrayed have become my most trusted, it will be those who will see to my will."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Masaru spat. "You think we will stand idle and let you do as you wish? Your more delusional than I remembered."

"Simple. A unified world. Royal, the Empire, the New World, all will become a single world. You have already seen it through your eyes, you have already lived it in your world. It is inevitable. Once the world has been unified, they will worship a single god, a god that will show them the true meaning." Mimi stood up from the cockpit seat of the Zero she was sitting on. "The Empire has long fallen, so too has Italia and Royal. Ming will be mine in a couple of weeks and then only the New World stands between the Great Roma Allied Nations of Divinity. One world, one thought, one god."

"Agumon!" "Zeromaru!" The three humans shouted as they readied each of their digivices.

"Hmm." Mimi grinned. "There is no need. You have given what I wanted and I have given you what you wanted. A month from now, when the moon will block the sun, the day of the black sun. A gate will appear, it will lead each of you home to your own worlds, Yagami Taichi and Seiba Rei back to Odaiba and you Daimon Masaru, my greatest defeat, you will be back to your own Digital World and time."

Mimi took her first steps since Taichi had first found her in the clearing. She made her way closer to the white knight Digimon. He offered his blue clawed hands and Mimi grabbed hold of his giant index finger with her small hands. She smiled towards Taichi and the other two. "You have lived your usefulness. Go home, this is not your world, you shall not interfere."

"What the hell are you talking about? We're not going to sit by and let you.." Masaru was stopped as Taichi brought his arm and hand before him to signal Masaru to stop and let him handle the situation.

Again Mimi smiled, "I have enjoyed our time together. I, Yggdrasil NEO, thank you for understanding and bid you a safe journey home." With that, a green glow appeared on the necklace that Taichi had given her. The very one Taichi had thought looked like her counterpart's Crest of Sincerity, but there was nothing sincere about this Mimi. The glow then enveloped Mimi and her white knight Digimon, and soon they were gone, as if they had never been there.

"Like hell she wishes for our safety. It's probably a trap! When I get my hands on her!" Masaru pounded his fist into his open hand. Taichi was still in deep thought and Rei too did not know what to think.

Taichi sighed and turned to the two humans from his world, "Rei." He started. "Can you save the location of this plane on your D3 Detect function?" Rei nodded as she took out her digivice and started to input their coordinates.

"We have more urgent worries to think about. Ming will still try and fight with you Masaru-san, we need to solve that before we do anything else." The other two nodded in agreement. In all honesty, Taichi did not know what to do. Did he truly want to go home and leave this world alone, to the wills of an insane god or did he want to fight against whatever Yggdrasil had planned. For now, he gathered he would first have to solve the Ming situation and then decide with the others on their course of action. Taichi asked Rei to Digivolve her UlforceVeedramon as a means to getting back to the mainland as both Taichi and Masaru had been too tired from their sparring match earlier that morning. The journey back to Masaru's stronghold was a quite one, each of them contemplating on what their next course of action would be.

They arrived back at Masaru's castle to find the welcoming wave of Davis and Takato. Having soon filled them in on what had happen, of course Taichi had left the details about the three being from another world out of the story. Masaru was still quiet compared to his usually boisterous self and Rei too was quiet even as they returned to the safety of Dongjing. Davis and Takato had been able to take control of the Ming ships lead by the third son of Lord of Hokkaido and had him confined to the underworlds of the castle. Masaru had yet to give Taichi a proper answer onto what he was planning. Taichi felt that Masaru was fighting an inner battle with himself as Marasu did not seem like a person to abandon his comrades but he also seemed to want to return to his world desperately. Taichi had decided to leave Masaru alone to fight over his feelings and better gage the situation in the morning.

Taichi gathered Davis and Takato later that evening to discuss their next course of action. Davis being the more action oriented one amongst them wanted to gathered the forces they did have and go straight against Roma. Takato being the pacifist and having been around Koushiro too long had suggested they wait until their next order from Royal, seeing as Yggdrasil could have been lying. If Royal had indeed fallen, Taichi did not think they would be able to receive more orders from all the chaos that would be going on back in the homeland. Taichi sighed in frustration and felt the need to punch something but to his better judgement he did not. He bid the two good night before retreating to his bed but was not able to fall sleep until the sun began poking through his screen doors.

That morning or rather it was closer to noon - Taichi awoke to find Rei trying to shake him away from his sleeping state. She reminded him they had things to do and that Koushiro had gotten word of what had happen the day before and had arrived only moments ago on board the Reliant. The entire gang was gathered in Masaru's main hall, Taichi was surprised that Prince Jianliang had also arrived to join them. There was no ill will between the Prince and Masaru from what Taichi could tell but he was wise to remind himself to tread carefully between the two. They sat on the zabutons that were gathered around the main chair Masaru sat in, the same chair that had once belong to Prince Jianliang himself.

"There hasn't been any word from Royal but if it indeed has fallen like this Yggdrasil has said, then we can assume there will be no further communication between us and the homeland." Koushiro started as the other where keen on listening to any news he had about what was going on in the world.

"My brother's scouts have spotted a large gathering army and air fleet near our borders with Indos. It is wise to assume that this is the Romans this Yggdrasil was talking about." Prince Jianliang replied. Taichi could tell the prince did not believe the one god he had his faith in was indeed real and had intentions that went against his teachings.

"If that's the case we can only assume our backup plan will be to return to command of His Majesty Osamu. And if Royal has fallen then we can say that all command has been passed to Royal's colony in the New World. The most powerful of which would be the city of Mount Royale in the colony of Nouvelle France but Royal's largest garrison is located in Fort Saint John, a port city in the Arcadia colony. We already know King Tottenham has been exiled to York in Hurrontario colony." Koushiro explained. Taichi was deep in thought but whatever scenario they would ultimately decide on, they would have to bring along the Zero Fighter, The Iron Dragon Mimi had lead them too.

"How long would it take the Reliant to sail to the New World?" Taichi asked hoping it would not take long as they only had a month until the day of darkness Mimi had told them about.

"With the air streams and if we set full sail for the entire journey it should actually only take us less than a week's time." Koushiro stated as he took out a pocket sized map.

"We'll set sail for the New World tonight, we do not have a moment to waste." Taichi stated, he then turned his attention to the Prince, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry we can not offer more of our services to you in this time of need but he have to find out what is going on."

"I understand Lord Captain, you loyalties are to your king and country as is mine." The Prince replied in a calm voice where Taichi had thought he would be outrage for not fulfilling his contract. "Daimon-san. I am sorry that we could not come to a peaceful resolution to our conflict, however there are more pressing matters now and we must put our fight to some other time."

"Don't be." Masaru answered the Prince, "I'm going with Taichi-san. Yggdrasil has beef with me and I intend to beat his ass again!" Taichi laughed a little as Masaru returned to his normal self.

"I'm going with Taichi-san too!" Rei stated.

Taichi nodded as Koushiro looked on confused as to why Daimon would be going with them. "Alright it's decided. However, first we must find that island again and bring the Iron Dragon onboard the Reliant."

"The Iron Dragon?" Those who did not know about the Zero warplane asked confusingly.


	43. Book 4 Chapter 9

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 9: Le Cafe**

Taking a sip at his hot creamy coffee which was later followed by a bit of a warm croissant, he peered onto the bed he was sitting beside, his breakfast platter sitting on the night table between his chair and the bed. He truly missed the taste of Royal, this breakfast brought back memories of his childhood where every morning his mother had given him a cup of hot chocolate and a buttered croissant. He had once complained to her it was too boring getting the same thing everyday without much change but now as an adult, he looked upon his childhood self with envy, what he wouldn't have given to taste her food all over again.

The sun was shinning, although it was early morning, the sun light passed through the eastern window of the room and as if it were a spot light, concentrating most of it's light on the figure that was currently sleeping in his bed. She had a peaceful look on her beautiful face, the very same face he had missed and loved for all these years. Her hair was airy, the height of Royal fashion, long and wavy, it was no wonder many once considered her to be the most beautiful from near and far. He wanted to very much touch her, to feel her, to kiss her. Her lips looked so inviting, her breast looked plump and perfectly shaped to her body, in all words, she was perfection. He restrained himself, he knew better, he knew he had other things to be done before he could think such a thing of her. Taking another sip of his morning coffee, his mind wondered back to his earlier thoughts.

The world was at war now and he had become the centre of it all. _No_ he reminded himself, it was not himself that had started this war, he was merely completing his master's wish, his own wish. The world had betrayed him and it was only right that the world gave itself up to him. The world was too much in debt to him and it was his birthright to take what belonged to him. The figure in his bed too had betrayed him but now he was here to set everything right, to claim what had always belong to him. He licked his lips as she began to stir from her slumber.

Her eyes slowly open as she supported her self into a sitting position. Her eyes slowly looking around her trying to gauge where she was, and when her eyes came upon him they became the size of the moon. He missed her eyes, they were hauntingly beautiful, as if he was staring into his own soul through the reflection as he gaze upon them. She grab the covers of the bed, trying to protect herself as if she was nude but instead she was dressed in a very simple white dress.

"Who are you? Don't come any closer!" She screamed in fright.

He merely smiled and she seemed to relax when her eyes landed on his smile. He knew somehow deep inside she understood, he meant no harm and she knew she was safe with him.

"Mon amour, you are as beautiful as the day I last saw you. I've grown to love you even more as we grow older." He said to her in his kindest and most trusting voice.

"Who are you?" She asked as her voice slowly faded letter by letter. Her was was transfixed on him, he knew she was paralyzed as a dozen emotion entered her.

He closed the distance between them as he himself now sat on the bed. He took her hands as he softly lead them to his face. He could feel that she was touching his mask, the very golden mask that hide himself from everyone and yet the very same mask that allowed him to see the true nature of those he had come across.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"Mon amour, surely you recognize this room, this house." He replied knowingly.

"My room…" She started, recognition was slowly coming to her, "Maison de fluers, my home, the chateaux the Alsace has lived in for many generations."

"The very one. Welcome home mon amour." He welcomed him as she continued to trace his mask with her hands. "You remember do you not? You remember me, my voice, my body, my touch, my love for you?"

"Yes I remember, I never gave up hope. My love, Taichi de Basse Normandie." She replied as she slowly lifted his mask to reveal the face she had long to see.

Their moment of bliss was soon interrupted as she became more and more aware, remembering what had happened and how it was impossible for her to be here right now. "This is a dream!" She screamed.

"No." He answered sternly.

"How? We…" She stumbled, "I was just in Ming, you were just in Ming! How can we be at my home?" She became more and more alarmed. Taichi simply smiled at her and continue to play with her hand, stroking it softly, trying to quell every urge he had about her.

"All will be answered mon amour. Come, you must be hungry, you have slept since yesterday's noon."

"No!" Again she screamed, "What's going on, I want answers! Tell me now!"

Taichi merely smiled again and peered into her soulful eyes. "You came here because our Lord Yggdrasil willed you here. A magical gate opened and you came through it, you feel into my arms as I saw you come through. I could not bare anything to happen to you."

It was the truth. Half truth but still the truth. She had indeed fell in to his arms when Yggdrasil abandoned her body.

She continue to look at him, he could see that she did not believe him, she was contemplating with herself, an argument within her mind. Taichi focused on her body, there was no words to explain how beautiful she was, he wanted to kiss her that very moment but stopped himself.

"The one that you have been travelling with, the one that you think you fell in love with, that was nothing more then an impostor, a fake with my face." Again she looked more confused than ever. Taichi continue to explain as he genteelly held her hands with his, their fingers intertwined, "Mimi you have been lied too. The King has been lied too, the world has been lied too, and I am here to save you all."

"What…what do you mean?" Her voice was soft, her voice was caught in her throat.

"A fake has appeared before you all, a fake by the name of Yagami has come before you and claimed himself Taichi de Basse Normandie! I am here to tell you, I am the only one, the true Taichi, the one love you had, the one love that loved you all these years, since our days playing in the fields. Since the day I made you a crown of flowers to indicate my love for you, to make you my princess." He told her passionately, he could see her eyes grow wide. Only Mimi and himself was present that day, it was a beautiful spring day where they had been playing in the fields alone. His sister was still a baby and they were close enough to the manor grounds where their parents felt they did not need to be watch. He had made a crown of flowers for her that day and promised he would make her his princess. Taichi de Basse Normandie knew that the fake Taichi, the one his Lord Yggdrasil had brought to this world, would not know of it. This was his trump card to prove he was who he said he was.

"Yagami…" He heard Mimi mumble slowly, each syllable becoming softer and softer as she had barely made the last part of the name vocal. She breathed in a large breath of air as she came to the realization of something, "He told that horrible Daimon Masaru his name was Yagami Taichi."

"Yes, the fake finally comes clean with his lies." He grinned, he knew he had her in the palm of his hands. He released his hands from hers and stood up from the bed, "I shall explain more later, for now, I have invited your parents to a meal, come," He offered his hand to her, "They are waiting in the dinning all, I know they dearly missed you."

He lead her down to the dinning all, she was still in her slim white dress. It was a light dress and she felt as though she was nearly nude but Taichi could only see her beauty, her perfection. The reunion with her parents was quick, she leapt to them in tears, her mother hugged her the longest. Taichi de Basse Normandie being the impatient man he was, in his sweetest voice, the two party seated to discuss what had transpired in the last year.

"My Lord, let me be the first to congratulate you on your return but let me ask, why have you been away for so long?" Lord Alsace, Mimi's father asked.

"Let me start from the beginning, you all remember the circumstances of my so called death?" They all nodded, "That was a lie my parents had made up to keep their name from falling even more. I was indeed sickly but nothing that a good sleep and good food would not cure. That day, a day unlike this, I had fallen into the river passing through the Basse Normandie manor. Days later I awoke in a old barn, a nun had saved me when she saw me floating down river, she cared for me but I had lost my memories. From that day on, I was taught in the ways of our Lord Yggdrasil, to be a devoted disciple." He told them, it was another half truth. He had indeed fallen into the river but had not lost his memory in the very lease. And the nun who had saved him was none other then an human avatar Yggdrasil used to move about around humans, the very same women Yggdrasil had been using to sell the other Taichi the very necklace that was the trigger for Yggdrasil to invade Mimi's damaged mind.

"You must have recently gained your memories?" Lord Alsace leaned onto the table as he sat across from Taichi.

"There is more to it then that, I'm afraid. The nun who saved me had taught me the ways of our Lord, she soon brought me to Roma, although their religion did not believe in our Lord, I was picked to be a bridge between their ways and ours. Soon it was decided I was the perfect candidate for Emperor - As you see the title was not passed down through family, the Romans voted the best candidate to serve as emperor for his life time." Again he lied through his grin. It was true that he was voted to be the emperor but it was through the help of greed by corrupted nobles and Yggdrasil's mind control over the weaker ones.

"Through my counsel, Roma was to become a saviour for mankind. The Republic had become too controlling, the Empire was not fit to be ruled by a boy King while his corrupt court was feeding off the poor, and Royal, where no men was equal, where the innocent go hungry because they were not born to be royal. It was then I saw that change was needed, Roma would be the shinning star, a world of equals. And it was on the battlefield where I had remembered my noble roots but it did not change my mind, the world need to be change or it would burn through the hands of humanity but also to make true my promise with your daughter, to make her a princess."

"An admirable job I must say. The Alsace shall side with anyone who will become the victor." Lord Alsace stated.

"A traitor to the very end." Taichi smiled.

"Family first." Lord Alsace laughed as he held his cup high. Taichi acknowledged his cheer and held his cup to Lord Alsace.

"What about Jyou?" Mimi finally spoke, Taichi had noticed she was blushing during the mornings events. Every time he looked towards her, Taichi had caught her staring at him and she would quickly look away when she noticed his eyes on hers, her cheeks red with embarrassment and no doubt rekindling her child love for him. Taichi grinned fully knowing his plan to make the girl fall in love with him was working to perfection.

"Jyou de Lyonais, truly an innocent fool who has become entangled with something out of his control. The poor fool thought he was saving Royal by turning to the Empire. The chaos of the war provided Roma with the perfect opportunity to displace control over the two countries. To thank Jyou, I've made him the governor of the Roma province we are currently standing in, Francia."

Although the control of the countries were all thanks to Yggdrasil's power and resources given to him and in turn to the Romans. The battles were quick, efficient, and of course Taichi's forces had simply dispersed any resistance. Yggdrasil had control in different worlds, worlds like and unlike this, and it was thanks to help of that knowledge, Taichi had become the perfect leader, military strategist, politician, and now Emperor of Roma.

Taichi peered towards Mimi, his smile faded as she scowled but not enough so where others would have noticed. It had seemed to Taichi Mimi did not entirely believe him or she was somehow appalled at the way Taichi had describe Jyou. It was simple for Taichi, he had promised Jyou while in the guise of his mask, The Golden Lion, to allow Jyou's dream of equality for all. As long as Jyou was none the wiser to Yggdrasil's plan and saw the exiled noble's rebellion as a threat to Roma, Jyou would simply be the perfect puppet.

Taichi stood from where he was sitting and offered his hand to Mimi. "I am sure my lovely wife to be misses the grand gardens and I would be honoured if she were to spend sometime with myself."

Mimi again blushed as Lord and Lady Alsace looked on with smiles on their faces. Taichi knew it had been their intentions all along to sell their daughter to ones who would best repay them in status. The Basse Normandie had once been rich through trade, but since his absence the looming war with the Empire had put trade relations to stall and in effect ruin the Basse Normandie name. If he had still been alive he would have never allowed King Osamu to lay eyes on the chestnut hair beauty and certainly would have fought to the death for her hand. Taichi's mind then shift towards his doppleganger, the Yagami imposter, he cursed him for allowing Mimi to become just another girl that he could play around with. It was Yggdrasil that showed him how the Yagami boy treated his dearly beloved and more than once he had demanded Yggdrasil to bring him to where that Taichi was and allow him to put a knife through Yagami.

"Taichi." Mimi started, half blushing and half in tears, "I'm sorry, I've betrayed you. That other you.." Her voice was caught in her throat, "I've lost my innocence to him, my flower."

"Do not blame yourself Mon Amour. The more you court a clown the statelier he grows. You are safe now, I will never let that trickster touch you again and if he even lay a single glance at you, I will cut off his head." He brought her into a hug.

"Taichi…" She replied softly as he brought his lips to her forehead in an effort to calm her.


	44. Book 4 Chapter 10

******Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 10: Rice Crackers**

"Amazing, simply amazing! I've never seen craftsmanship or engineering of this quality. How is it possible? It looks as though it been here for decades and airship technology is only a few years old." Koushiro said in the quickest of voice Taichi could remember ever hearing. The former Lord of Manchester was going over every part of the Zero-Fighter - touching every bolt, trying to figure out every detail about how something of this shape could once fly with it's own power. Taichi on the other hand simply laughed at his friend's enthusiasm as he popped in another large senbei, whole, into this mouth. Thanks to the quick thinking of Rei, she had convinced a couple of Masaru's chefs to come along with them as paid commission. At least food he was use to from his world was something to look forward to on their trip across the ocean.

"Captain, how is this all possible. Maybe ancient civilizations? Could it be the lost city of Atlantia?" Koushiro's eyes became wide as he went through the scenarios of who had built such a machine.

"Koushiro-san, you have plenty of time to examine it all you want but we need to hurry and get the thing onboard." Rei's voice cut through to Koushiro as he took his grabby hands off of the Zero.

"Sorry Miss Rei. You can see how an interested mind such as myself would get excited about such a feat of engineering. There are still many questions to be ask!" Taichi smiled, Koushiro was acting much like the Koushiro of his world when he came across a new piece of technology, like a child in a candy store.

Rei sighed and proceeded to take out her Digivice. She pointed it towards her blue rookie Digimon and on cue a blue light surrounded the small Digimon only to be replaced by a large blue armour clade warrior.

"Ohhh!" Koushiro again shouted, "I must take a look at those badges Miss Rei and Captain Taichi carry around all the time!" But Koushiro was soon reminded why Taichi had always saw a side of Sora in the girl, as she simply put a fist to Koushiro's head before ordering her Digimon to carry the Zero back to the Reliant.

"Somethings never change." Taichi mumbled through his grin.

Once they had return to the ship, a large group of soldiers gathered around the Zero, amazed at such a machine could exist. Taichi spied Masaru hanging under the shade of where the deck rose to allow for the entrance to the decks below, his arms crossed and looking onto the soldiers with amusement.

Taichi had made both Rei and Masaru as official members of his regiment and crew onboard the HMAS Reliant. They had received word last night from both the exiled Royal and Empire's admiralty.

_They had been seated in Masaru's royal hall, a place he had reluctantly given back to the Prince of Ming - going about their next course of action. They had been discussing whether or not to sail east towards the New World or west toward's the Roma stronghold. Their argument was soon interrupted when one of Taichi's lesser crew member came hurrying into the hall._

_"My Lord, My Lord!" The sailer called, "Message from His Majesty's Admiral!" The man dropped the piece of paper onto Taichi's receiving hands. _

_Taichi unfold the letter and began reading out load for the others to hear. "To Lord Captain Taichi de Basse Normandie. His Majesty, Osamu de France Unis has expressed his deepest gratitude on your services to Royal. It is our regret that the homeland has been lost but the safety of the royal family has been our priority and is currently in the safety of our colony Mount Royale. We are giving our command to all current assigned captains to return to the command of His Majesty within the boarders of the New World. You will be given three weeks time to return to Royal and failure to do so will result in an announcement of treason. For the Glory of Royal!"_

_"Wait there's another letter." Rei stated as she pointed to the other piece of paper that had fallen to the feet of Taichi without him noticing. Rei picked it up and began reading in the same fashion as Taichi. "To Lord Manchester and Lord Liverpool. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your promotions back to the status of Lords. I have received the word of His Majesty King Osamu de Royal Unis for your safe return to me. You will be given safe passage by your current employer and I expect your presence at the city of York in the Hurrontario colony. Sincerely, Cody di Tottenham."_

_"Well I guess it's decided. Our first stop will be York then onto Mount Royale." Taichi stated._

_"Don't forget we still need to pick up the Zero." Rei finished as she pointed her Digivice towards the map to who the coordinates she had saved on her D3._

_"Zero?" Koushiro asked. Taichi slapped himself in the head for being careless but was able to quickly make lie._

_"The machine we found Yggdrasil using as shelter." Taichi could see Koushiro's eyes light up like a moon as he mentioned the word machine. This time he mentally slap himself and hoped Koushiro would not ask more question. This wish was however, not answered as Koushiro continually asked Taichi and Rei more questions well into the night and early into the morning until the finally allowed him to come along for the retrieval of the Zero._

"Lord Captain!" One of the sailers saluted. "All riggings have been inspected and are ready for sail."

Taichi nodded as he returned the salute. "Full speed a head, set coordinates of York."

"Yes Milord!"

Taichi began to relax a little, although part of his mind was still on Mimi. He had only himself to blame for her disappearance and her betrayal. If he only had taken more interest in her, she was his wife after all, even though it was never official. His sister Hikari too, was mad at Taichi when he told her what had happened. So mad, she had ignored him since that very moment, going so far as to travel on the Reliant's smaller counterpart and sailing companion, the thirty gun HMAS Noble. Taichi was still beating himself up on the inside before Rei had reminded him it wasn't his fault and that Yggdrasil had tricked Mimi into believing such nonsense as Taichi's infidelity. Taichi still did not believe it all and still blamed himself.

Atleast Agumon was back to normal, even though they had no idea what this new evolution was or whether it was safe to continue to evolve. Koushiro had given Agumon a thorough examination and found nothing wrong with Agumon, even going as far as saying there was no signs of Agumon ever having an illness. He too had inspected his digivice and practiced evolving Agumon to his Mega form, each time evolving to Wargreymon's newer X-th form. Taichi had concluded it was Yggdrasil who was most likely responsible for Agumon's illness but he had little else to go on and the only way of knowing was to have another conversation with the super computer. There were many questions he still had and Yggdrasil seemed so far away.

"Taichi." A tiny voice called. It was the voice of his rookie Digimon, as Agumon tugged on his green jacket, the signifier of his noble status as a Digimon Tamer.

"Agumon." Taichi acknowledge his Digimon. Taichi was looking out on the starboard side of the Reliant, his arms using the ships rails as support.

"Don't beat yourself up Taichi. We'll make everything all right, Devimon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters, even Princess Mimi, we dealt with them no problem and we'll deal with Yggdrasil all the same." Taichi looked into the big orbs that was Agumon's eyes, he could see the ambitious spirit of his Digimon partner.

"We've been through so much. Saint Germain, that was a pain. The war, I had thought I was going to be powerless to stop everyone from dying and then your powers return. South Wales, we stopped so much bloodshed from happening if the tusk trade continued. And now, Rei is with us, Masaru-san too." Taichi reminisced about the past events - else eyes were starring at nothing in particular, the sky was plain with only a few clouds but it seemed to take all of Taichi's attention.

Agumon nodded as Taichi felt a hand on his shoulders. Taichi and Agumon both turned around to find Rei and Masaru standing there, a small smile on both their faces.

"Taichi-san, we'll get through this." Masaru stated, once again did his famous fist pound, "We'll beat the crap out of them."

Masaru's statement was received by a round of laughter.

"Thanks guys. You're right, there's better things around the horizon." Taichi dramatically pointed towards the bow of the Reliant, eastwards, "Onto the New World!"

* * *

Notes:  
Get ready everyone, because the first chapter of a 20 chapter behemoth is about to be dropped on you sometime today or more likely tomorrow.

_Preview Chronicles of Le Monde Book 5: The Unison War_

_When the Reliant reached what appeared to be the out skirts of the city walls, still miles above in the sky, two streams of gold light leapt from each side of the ship and raced ahead of the ship. She had never seen such a sight, as lights dispersed into tiny golden particles shinning in the noon sky, marking the trail of whatever it was that was flying. _

_Soon, the two sources of light looped in the sky and made a beeline for the crowd. It took them only a moment before the two massive figures were upon them, not enough time for anyone to react. Their speed was impressive, their sight even more so. They were no doubt Digimon and even though she had never seen the Lord Captain's Digimon in his mega form, she would be right to guess one of them was his. Both were orange and armour clad dragons. Both looked like fierce fighters as golden light still dispersed as they emitted from the wings of both Digimon._

_"Impressive." She heard her friend Sora whisper as they stood close to one another. Really impressive she had replied with her thoughts._

While most of the crowd's attention were on the two Digimon, many failed to notice the massive airship was now upon them and ready to go through the process of docking. Like a fish's fin, the ship's large wind sails folder upwards and onto the sides of the ship mirroring their underwater counterpart. Ropes thrown down from the ship to hold it in place so that it's citizens could disembark.


	45. Book 5 Chapter 1

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 1: The Lily Flower**

The sky was blue, the clouds big and round, the fall air was crisp as the autumn air filled her lungs. The forest which surrounded her pathway was alive with colour - reds, yellows, oranges, and some even still green. This was all new to her. She had never experienced such magic when it came to the seasons changing, she had never experienced anything but warm and humid air, the palm trees never turned a different colour when the season change nor did the air get colour or warmer. It gave her a calming feeling after all that was going on in the world, this was a little pocket of peace, where birds were singing as they flew above her, flying south for the winter, where wind swept through the leaves giving it a calming deep voice. She was so use to hearing the sounds of gunfire and men shouting orders for the last month she had nearly forgotten what it was like not to hear it.

This was her new home now and she hoped it would stay that way for the rest of her life, a place where she should live peacefully, a place where she could find her future husband, and a place where she could grow old with the love of her life. She knew it was almost impossible, war would reach the east shores any day now, Roma had become too powerful to stop now, the Republic, Royal, the Empire even, all had fallen to the Roman war machine and the Kingdom of Ming would fall in a matter of time. Once Roma had finished with the Old World there was no doubt they would turn towards the New World. Those who knew what was coming didn't bother to fight, they joined the Romans willingly knowing there was no other choice and they were spared from the bloodshed but families like her own were not so willing, the chose to fight back, to resist the Roman monster as they were now called.

The Romans had a leader like none had ever seen, he was a genius like many called him, others called him a monster. He was once called the Golden Lion, those who had seen him in person swore that he was half human and half lion. This rumour sparked more rumours and soon enough it became outrageous, the Golden Devil, the man who was raised by lions, a Digimon who disguised himself as human, and even now people became disillusioned with everything in the world, they began preaching as if the mysterious Roman leader was Lord Yggdrasil himself. She did not believe in any of those, she knew better even when a part of herself told her otherwise but she was rational.

Soon the forest began to be replaced by little houses with pots of farm land and as she walked closer and closer to the city, when the entire forest gave way to houses. Even though the colony was only founded less than a hundred years ago, the population of York was now reaching more than a million. Most of the original colonist were simple farmers, choosing to migrate to the New World when farmland back in the homeland was running dry. Now, many of the people who made up city centre were either small business owners or fisherman as York was a port city and fish was a plenty in the large lakes. However, those who had escaped the Roman war machine and the betrayal of the King's court by the frenchmen Jyou de Lyonais, now made their homes in York. There were many colonies in the new world, thirteen large ones to be exact with many small frontier's towns doting unplotted land. Even though there were many colonies to choose from, the majority of people made their way to York or inside the Hurrontario colony as it was the epicentre of the Empire's power in the New World. What was once the Hurrontario's governor manner at the centre of the city had now become the exiled King's place of residence as he plotted with nobles still loyal to him.

Her purpose today was to bring some of the apples her family's new farm had grown and deliver them to Lord Windsor's manor. This was all still new to her, as back in Madras the climate was too warm for apple farming and her family largely got by through their ownership of Saint George Academy. Most of their food came from the native Indos farmers or plantations of other colonial families from the Empire. With the Empire now under the hands of the Romans, the Crowle family had lost most of their riches and now they were given a second chance in the New World.

The city was bustling this autumn morning, cloisters of large limestone stone builds filled her sight and those that were homes to the city folks filled her nose with the smells of breakfast and lunch being cooked in their fireplaces. Men on horses roam the streets, going about their business; plump ladies gossiping with one another as she passed by; with the odd group of soldiers looking for anything suspicious. She felt lonely in this new city, all her friends from Madras either went back to the homeland and allied themselves with the Romans or they moved to colonies that had less of a population so that they could gain an advantage in starting new plantations. She only had one friend in this new world, someone that she could confide in when her sisters would not do. The Windsor's had become friends with her own family and she too with the Windsor's fiery daughter. They were the complete opposite of each other, she was weak and shy, Lady Sora Windsor was strong and spoke her mind.

The Windor's house was a simple one, not the largest in the city but large enough to show that they were once a noble family back in the old world. She had heard the house once belonged to Sora's estranged father who Sora had recently reunited with. She had been in Sora's house before, but she was shocked every time she would visit. From the outside one would assume that it was a nicely decorated and comfy interior, however the reality was much different. Sora's father was a notable scholar and the home of this adventure reflected that fact, the house was littered with books and papers of all kind, it was usual for her to trip on one of the many scholarly tools every time she came to visit. Sora had said she was hard at work cleaning her father's mess but every time she had cleaned one area, another area had become twice as messy.

She fiddled with her hands as both were needed to hold onto the small sack of apples she was carrying, and finally was able to knock on the large oak door. She wished she had an mirror with her, it was a long walk from the farm to Sora's house and she was sure, even on this cool autumn day, she was sweating. She was not use to wearing such a frilly dress, Madras was always warm and always humid, if she choose to wear nothing more then a blouse and a short skirt, no one would question her modesty. Some even considered Saint George Academy's uniforms to be too modest for the Madras climate. However, the New World's weather was similar to that of the homeland and something that would seem to be normal for someone from Indos would be considered highly shameful. Another reason why she had to wear this deep sky blue dress with golden frills; it was cumbersome and she wished she could even wear something simple like her old school uniform.

As she was deep in thought, the opening of the large oak door had gone unnoticed and Lady Lily Crowle received quite a scare when she found a long face, with curtained hair, large eyes and even larger eye brows was staring back at her. She let out a little scream and fell backwards onto her bottom, effectively staining her deep sky blue dress as she landed on the dirt road.

The face that had been staring back at her changed from an expression of questioning to one of recognition. A small smile began to form on the man's face, "Ah, Lady Lily Crowle! Sora has been expecting you this morning. Come in, come in."

Lily escaped from her initial shock and smile towards the man, "Sorry Lord Windsor, you gave me quite a scare but it's my fault that I was daydreaming."

Lord Windsor seemed to not hear what she had said or simply chose to ignore it as he looked to be in a hurry to get back to whatever had his attention, even ignoring herself who was still firmly on the ground. Sora soon appeared at the door when her father had just left to go back to whatever it was that he was up too. Sora looked at her fallen body and frowned.

"Dad!" He called in with fervour, "You could at least have the decency to pick Lily off of the floor before you left." Again Lord Windsor simply ignore what was directed at him, and soon he disappeared into a room, returning to his project. Sora once again turned her attention to her fallen body, "Sorry about that, but he's locked himself in his study, something about a solar eclipse in a month's time." Sora apologized and offered an outstretched hand to Lily. "Honestly, the least he could do is spend time with his family he hasn't seen in years but instead this is more important."

Lily simply smiled at her friend, having a father herself who was often too focused on work and many possible marriage contracts for his daughters - Lily understood what it was to be neglected by a father and tried to excuse Lord Windsor, "I'm sure it's very important to the King as well, maybe when he finishes his work he'll have more time with you and your mother."

"That man will never rest, once he's finished something he'll move onto whatever new that hold's his interest." Sora replied as she lead Lily through the hall of her father's manor until they reach the kitchen.

She giggled at her friend's statement and replied with her index finger pointed to her mouth in a thoughtful manner, "Your father reminds me of someone I met once, he was also into books and his captain would always joke to him that he would much sooner starve of food than starve of knowledge."

"Oh." Sora replied uninterested as she set the sack of apples she had brought onto the large table used by the cooks to prepare the family's meals. "I didn't take you to be friendly with filthy soldiers."

"Taichi isn't like that!" Lily tried to reply softly but instead it was a loud refusal.

"Taichi?" Sora looked up from the apples and gave her a questioning frown. "You're on first name terms now?" Sora asked while grinning, "So, why don't you tell me about this Captain Taichi?"

Lily blushed the deepest red she could, even more red than the ripened apples themselves. "Ummmm…well" She tried hard to remain calm but her heart was beating fast now, it happened every time she would think about the Lord Captain. "Taichi's brave, and kind, and smart but not as smart as Koushiro of course. And then there's Davis, he would always flirt with my friends." She quick said, as if it were in one breath.

She tried to ignore the look Sora would be giving her, she did not want to be any more embarrassed. Yet she took a peek toward's her friend and instead of a grinning face, Sora instead had eyes wide in shock. "It can't be." Lily heard Sora say softly.

"Sora are you alright?" She asked, worried about her friend. She did not know what was going on, but it was something she had said to upset Sora.

"They're dead!" Sora screamed, Lily became frightened by her friend's actions. "Tell me Lily, tell me the truth, what did they look like."

Too frightened to give a proper answer, Lily again quickly told Sora the details as if in one single breath. "Well, Koushiro of Manchester was short, he had reddish brown hair and so did Davis of Liverpool but he was a lot taller, almost the same height as Taichi." Sora grasped her shoulders tightly as tears began to flow from her eyes. "Sora?" Lily asked concerned.

"They're alive!" Sora smiled but tears continued to stream from her face.

"I'm sorry I've upset you Sora…I did not know you knew them." Her face became downcast.

"No, no. Lily, this calls for a celebration!" Sora's true smile showed on her face, tears stained her rose coloured cheeks. Before another word could be said, a loud knock came from the exact same oak door Lily had only just walked through moments ago. Sora excused herself to check who was at the door and Lily felt obligated to follow suit.

They were surprised to find a Red Coat, his shoulder stripes signifying he was an ensign. He gave the two ladies a deep salute and preceded to draw out a letter from one of his belt pouches. The letter was ordinary looking, however it carried the royal seal, one that was only used by His Majesty himself.

"A letter for Lord Windsor from His Majesty, requesting the House of Windsor to be present at the docking of HMAS Reliant." The ensign released himself from his salute and marched back to his horse, leaving Sora and Lily to stare wide eyed at each other.

"So, it seems that I'll be able to meet this Captain Taichi that has captured the heart of my sweet friend." Sora grinned, Lily only met Sora's snide remark with the deepest blush she was capable of. The rest of the day was met with small talk and tea and soon, when dusk began to show through the windows of the Windsor's manor, they bid each other a good night.

She found that her family too had received a letter from His Majesty and after reading in depth of the contents of the letter, she found that her Taichi would be arriving in two days time. Instead of her usual habit of reading a good book during these cool nights, she spent that night and knowing she would do the same the next night, trying to find the perfect dress to impress upon the Lord Captain.

The next morning, she woke from a night of sweet dreams of her Lord Captain. The day quickly passed, if she were to try at a later date to remember what she had done that day, she would honestly tell you she had no memory of anything from that day, rather her head was filled with daydreams of the handsome Lord Captain.

Finally the day arrived without much fanfare, only a small gathering of influential families had been there to receive the installation of Lord Manchester and Liverpool. She waited anxiously, keeping her eye glued to the noon sky, trying to find any signs of an approaching airship. That morning was like any other, except she had been frantically questioning each dress she had, until finally settling on an airy blue dress, something that hopefully would keep the Lord Captain's eyes on herself and only herself. She knew she was being selfish, after all, the Lord Captain was a married man and she was desperately jealous of Mimi, the commoner girl the Lord Captain was in love with. She was not someone who ruin other's relationships but she was deeply in love with the Lord Captain. It had been a small crush ever since they were children, he had been a devil towards her but he was always in her mind. And when they finally met again a little more than a month ago, he had grown so handsome and so kind, her small childhood crush turned into a full blown one sided love.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the crowd started to become restless and collective sigh of excitement when they caught a sight of something appearing behind the sole cloud in the sky. When the ship became fully sighted, it became apparent to Lily and many of the guests present that this ship was an impressive sight. It was larger than any ship many of the people there had seen, but Lily had already seen the ship once but it was still a magnificent sight none the less. When the Reliant reached what appeared to be the out skirts of the city walls, still miles above in the sky, two streams of gold light leapt from each side of the ship and raced ahead of the ship. She had never seen such a sight, as lights dispersed into tiny golden particles shinning in the noon sky, marking the trail of whatever it was that was flying.

Soon, the two sources of light looped in the sky and made a beeline for the crowd. It took them only a moment before the two massive figures were upon them, not enough time for anyone to react. Their speed was impressive, their sight even more so. They were no doubt Digimon and even though she had never seen the Lord Captain's Digimon in his mega form, she would be right to guess one of them was his. Both were orange and armour clad dragons. Both looked like fierce fighters as golden light still dispersed as they emitted from the wings of both Digimon.

"Impressive." She heard her friend Sora whisper as they stood close to one another. _Really impressive_ she had replied with her thoughts.

While most of the crowd's attention were on the two Digimon, many failed to notice the massive airship was now upon them and ready to go through the process of docking. Like a fish's fin, the ship's large wind sails folder upwards and onto the sides of the ship mirroring their underwater counterpart. Ropes thrown down from the ship to hold it in place so that it's citizens could disembark.

"WarGreymon!" "ShineGreymon!" She heard two voice call out at the same time as the two massive Digimon began to shine a bright orange light before both reverting to Agumon's.

* * *

**Note**: Usually I don't like notes at the end of the story because I believe the mark of a good writer is that everything some be self explanatory through the words themselves, but since I'm not a good writer and I know people are going to ask. Sora never received the letter from Taichi in the end of Tusk War, so she has no idea whether Koushiro or Davis was still alive.


	46. Book 5 Chapter 2

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 2: Davis of Liverpool**

He felt as if everything was racing past him at a million miles, as if nothing was in his control. He had always wanted a simple life, a life of comfort where he did not need things to change day to day but he always had wanted to travel and this journey with Captain Taichi was filling that need. In the end, what Davis, formally of the Liverpool house wanted was freedom. It was almost ironic in his mind, this freedom which he obtained was originally a form of slavery, after all, he was still considered a prisoner of war.

Taichi was someone hard to understand, not for the lack of trying but Davis did not understand why Taichi would do half the things he did - all under the his observation as they travelled from country to country. He had expected this new life to be torture when he had been captured by the Orange prince - expecting to be sent to work day in and day out at a coal mine or plantation. The plantation was what he had received but the attitude of his captor was wholly different from what he had imagined. Captain Taichi had been kind to him since the first day, even though he always acted hostel towards the Lord Captain, Taichi was never angered by Davis' comments. Then that faithful outing to the markets, a day Davis could never forget. He was in the middle of it all, helping the Captain's wife, standing in between Taichi and Koushiro. Davis didn't remember much of what lead to the incident, all he could recall was a loud scream by Lady Mimi before he realized the Captain was on the ground, a puddle of his own blood drowning his body.

So much had changed since that day. So much had changed since he was made Lord Liverpool. Davis always had blamed his father, even though he did not show it, he hated his father for what he had done to him and his family. Davis was only at the age of ten, when his father had been struct down by a fever, a few weeks later he had died from his illness, leaving an innocent and reluctant Davis to take the reins as Lord of Liverpool. Davis had to learn at a very young age, that if he were to survive within the King's court and on the battlefield, he had to grow up and take control of everything around him, even if it meant becoming ruthless. He had to win many battles to become recognized on and off the battlefield, even earning his company the nickname the _Reds -_ they would go into battle with their pristine army coats and come out stained with blood, their own and those they've taken care of.

Davis also blamed his father for his rather distant relationship with his mother and sister, he had not had contact with them since his capture nor did he want any contact with them when Captain Taichi had given him freedom to do so. His mother was someone he did not want to become, weak and manipulated by those who surround her. After the death his father, his mother had lost the status that came with being the wife a prominent Lord; she had become simply the mother of Lord Liverpool, making her seem old and useless. She had tried to gain back her status, trying to marry himself off to young ladies of his age, yet every time such a proposed meeting between the two families would take place, Davis had always found some way to sneak out of it with the excuse of the army needing his command. It was thanks to the year long station at Fort Hall, a days ride from Mount Royale, that earned him his status as an young elite Lord and allowed him to escape any attempts his mother made to have him marry young. As the war with Royal had originally only started when he was back in the homeland for little over a few weeks, not enough time for his mother to plan any new marriage meetings. His capture was a godsend.

His sister on the other hand. He did not ever want to see her in the near future, he was afraid he would punch her square in the nose if he caught sight of her. The war with Royal was never a popular choice with the people, but with the manipulation of the Lyonias house onto the King's court, it became a moral choice of the people of the Empire to attack Royal. At the time, Davis was not trusting of the Lyonias, but he was out for an adventure, out to showoff his skills and his Digimon. His sister however, was solely in favour of the war, only because she had fallen head of heals for the oldest of the three Lyonias' brothers. Even though Lyonias had no intention of officially courting Jun, she had always believed they were and she was to become the next Lady Lyonias, but instead Lyonias had used her as a simple whore. Last he had heard from whispers of sailers he had met during his time in South Wales, Jun continued to visit the elder Lyonias as he was held prisoner in the Tower of London. No one at the time thought anything of the Lyonias and now they had taken over the Empire's homeland itself and betrayed it by giving it to Roma.

His fist was clinched hard and his teeth grinding on each other as he though about his sister, which lead him to no see a figure entering his cabin.

"Davis-sama, is something wrong?" A soft, bird like voice asked as a cup of hot tea was placed on beside him, on his desk.

Davis' mind went blank as he looked upon the sight before him and cursed himself that he had not become used to her presence even after this long. Her copper red hair, long and in pigtails filled his eyes, her tight kimono, something he had bought for her before the Reliant left Ming, to replace the rags she had been wearing before. She was the picture perfect image of grace and beauty, she was innocent even though she had came from a whore house. The soldiers that manned the Reliant had tried to use her, hearing the stories spread amongst themselves, they had thought she was a easy way to let off some steam. If it were not for him and more importantly the treat of Magnamon, they would probably have made life miserable by now but Davis had saved her from that fate and she was more his maid then anything else.

Davis looked at her, her smile and her ever present flowery scent filled his nose. His heart would always beat faster whenever they were along in his room like this, he wanted to know why. "No." He shook his head, "Just thinking about my mother and sister."

Ami intertwined her fingers together and fawned over Davis, "That's so nice. You'll be able to see them again soon."

Seconds later, he face became darkened and Davis knew the subject of family was an serious issue for her. "I'm sorry Ami, forget I ever said anything about my family."

"mmehmm" She shook her head, "It's okay. Even though I don't have any family I remember, Madame Natsumi and the girls at the Sakura House has always been there for me."

Davis put his palm to his head, he never intended to upset the girl - it was nearly impossible for her to ever see Ming again and her future, even with him, was a unsure one.

"I'm I hope, not interrupting a sweet moment but we're about to dock." A voice called into Davis' cabin which he shared with the girl who he was currently lending his shoulder to. The face attached to the voice stared at the two blankly, Davis' cheeks caught a bright red colour and he quickly launched himself away from her and became ridged as he gave the Lord Captain a salute.

The Lord Captain gave a small chuckle and continued to grin. Davis tried to cool himself down but his cheeks did not want to be released from their blush. The Lord Captain then waved good bye to the two before commenting that it would be best if they would both changed into something more formal. Taichi had also told Ami she had free rein on Mimi's old closet, fearing the nobles of the King's court would view Ami in a better light if she were to be dressed like them. Davis had noticed a hint of sadness when the Lord Captain had mentioned his estranged wife but he knew better, as the Lord Captain hard put on a brave face after everything that had happened to them.

"Well, I'm off to give them a show. Be sure to be dressed once I get back." The Lord Captain called as he walked away.

Soon his feet felt a jerk as the HMAS Reliant come to a stop, he looked himself over for a final check. It would be weird he had thought, he was an Empire noble returning to the Empire's court but wearing colours of Royal. The Lord Captain had given both himself and Koushire a set of green coat uniforms, after all they were still nobles with Digimon, even though they had no real status with the other noble houses of Royal, within the society of the airship, their status was above all.

"You look very handsome my Lord." Davis gave a blink before he realized Ami had returned from changing into one of Lady Mimi's dress. He turn to look at her, expecting the plain old Ami he saw day in and day out. His jaws dropped when he saw what she had turned into, an angel in his mind, more beautiful than Lady Catherine had been during the welcome party, more beautiful than the captain's own sister who had stopped talking to them and had gone ahead to Mount Royale on board the Noble. Davis had feared he would never again set his eyes on the young beauty but he was wrong as Ami made his heart race, something that no other girl had done before. The dress was perfectly matched for her copper red hair. A crimson red dress full of frills and lace, her top coat opening to a large black, translucent skirt, Davis' voice became caught in his throat.

A whistle came from behind Ami as she stood between the doorframe and the silhouette of large mane of hair came into Davis' view. "If I knew our dear sweet Ami would turn out to be such a beauty I would have kept her for myself." The Lord Captain joked as he entered the cabin, "Wonder what your mother would think when you enter with such a beauty."

Davis was not aware he had told the Lord Captain about his personal life as it was not something Davis liked to discuss but it wouldn't be strange if he had off handedly mentioned it to the captain or Koushiro would have told him. Davis took in what Taichi had said and replied with a mumble, "Hopefully it would stop her from setting me up with those hags."

Taichi made no reaction and Davis assumed the Lord Captain had not heard what he had said. He and Ami was soon ushered by Taichi to the open deck of the Reliant where they would soon be released onto solid ground. Davis looked over the edge of the Reliant, his eyes were met with a small group gathered, their dresses and coats made from expensive cloths - no doubt in his mind that this group of people were a bunch of nobles. He could not spot his mother or sister, he had half expected them to be there as it was their family regaining their noble status. His eyes soon shifted to a glint of red and he frown a little. He knew only one person who had naturally amber hair like that and he was not looking forward to meeting her again.

Sora had been completely opposed to the war with Royal and he had been completely for it, he had looked like a war monger to her and now that he was fighting for Royal, he was afraid of the cold stare he would receive from her as an "I told you so".

The Lord Captain was first to greet the small group and was soon whisked away, leaving himself and Koushiro questioning their own importance. However, as they slowly disembarked from the Reliant, officers and officials came to lead them onto carriages that would be heading to the King's current manor house. Davis stayed quite during the ride, it was not his first time in the new world and as the trees and buildings past, he turned a blind eye to them, deep in thought about what life was leading him towards. Ami on the other hand, was bright eyed and looking towards everything, it was a distraction for Davis as the girl "wow"-ed at everything, from the littlest of animals to the big red maple trees, that would go past them.

Davis did not know why she was here or even if she was invited to such a party, but the Lord Captain had said it was important for Ami to be present as he had a large surprise for everyone - he had said Ami was the centrepiece of his surprise.

The doors of their carriage opened as they arrived at the front door of the manor. Even though it was originally used as a governor's house, the sight was still impressive. The Manor house was large but not as large as the palace back in London, large enough for the King to hold court and his other daily tasked while he was exiled. Davis stumbled out of the carriage as no one was there to give him a hand exiting the large wheeled cart - Davis could see the malice in some of the guards' faces, they no doubt viewed him as a traitor even though it was apparent now that the Empire had been betrayed. Not wanting Ami to suffer the same fate he had trying to exit, he gave his hand to her as support while she gracefully exited the carriage. Even though she was a foreigner, Davis could see the faces of the guards as they became dazed by Ami's beauty and grace. Davis turned his face into a smuggle look, wanting to show off Ami even more.

Although Ami was officially just his washer girl, someone to clean his clothing and bring him his meals, she had turned out more useful than just doing his washings. Davis had only known the girl for a little over two weeks and in that time, he could not think of living without her. She made him his breakfast, she washed his clothing, she kept him on task, and she took care of Magnamon and more importantly himself. If he was a simple commoner, it would seem as though she was his wife but life of a noble was not as simple as that. The most she could ever become was one of his mistresses, he, being a noble required a wife of noble blood.

"Davis-sama, are you alright?" She asked as her arm was entangled with his. If anyone who did not know them individually, they looked like a respectable couple, they would have seen her as a lady of good standing and himself a young Lord coming into his own, and for they most part they looked to be in love, unlike most relationships born from the need of status.

"Just fine Ami." He replied, looking at her face was often something that would calm him. Davis was not a fan of long dramatic hallways and made a mental note to build his new manor to lack long halls.

Once they reach the end of the hall, a pair of guards awaited them, as if it were from pages of a book, they crossed their decorative pike axes preventing them from going on further. Davis could hear soft music coming from the room in front of them and the murmurs of chatter but with a solid door in front of them, there was no telling what was going on. Davis looked one of the guards square in the eyes, half expecting them to acknowledge him and Ami but they merely stared into the blank space of the hall, ignoring Davis and his lovely consort. It was after a minute before Davis became impatient and with Ami holding tightly onto his arm from the fear and nervousness, he was about to grab one of the pair and demand to be let through. Just as he was about to step out of line, the two guards released their axes from their original position, giving Davis the cue to step through.

The doors open to an image of people dressed in their best, dancing and chatting amongst themselves in a large room. Their mingling stopped once they realized the doors were now open, all eyes turning to the new victims in which they turn their attention. Davis noticed that before he and Ami could officially enter the room, the patrons parted to each side of the large hall, allowing Davis a direct line of sight to the King. The image of the King was different from what Davis had remembered. Gone was the little boy sitting on a majestic throne much too big for him and replaced with an image of regal young man, his large golden crown on his head, the sun's ray reflecting off the gold - making King Cody look like a celestial being.

His mind was snapped awake when crier came before Ami and himself, "Presenting, Lord Davis of Liverpool and his wife, Lady Ami, Princess of Eastern Ming Kingdom." Davis' jaw dropped as he heard what the crier declared himself as such, before spotting the Lord Captain within the crowd awaiting for them to step forward. Davis met Taichi's eye, there was a small glint to them and a mischievous grin formed from his mouth. He realized that the Captain must have told the King something to make everyone present believe Ami was his wife and a princess from a far away land.

While the stepped forward towards the King, Davis caught sight of his mother and his sister, expecting them to have a scowl when Ami was introduced as his wife. His mother however, did not have her usual disappointed look whenever they had a conversation about his love life, rather she had a proud smile and clap along with the rest of the gathering as they preceded. Davis knelt onto one of his knees and right hand protecting his heart as he set before the King. Ami on the other hand, having a to contend with a large dress, merely curtsied towards His Majesty.

"Davis of Liverpool." The King's once small squeak of a voice was now commanding and booming, "It was a pleasant surprise to learn of your survival after the unfortunate war. Lord Captain Taichi de Basse Normandie has told me of you valour and you shall be rewarded with the reinstallation of your title." Davis knelt deeper, clinching his fist even tighter as a signing of thanking the King, "Furthermore, as the homeland has been lost to us, I can not return that land to you and in replacement to that, you will be given town of Queenston."

"Thank you Majesty." Davis replied still kneeling.

"Rise my loyal friend, tonight we are to celebrate your return to us." Davis rose to his feet and noticed the King had now shifted his eyes towards Ami, "I would love to hear more about your adventures, Lord Captain Normandie has told me how you have captured the lovely heart of Lady Ami. To have a princess from a powerful kingdom such as Ming to become your bride, it will surely help us with an alliance in the future. Please, enjoy this party."

Davis was speechless, there was no way he could tell the King, Taichi was lying and Ami was far from a princess, the opposite to be exact, as she was a helpless street whore that Captain Taichi had rescued.

"They make such a lovely couple." The voice of Captain Taichi came from the large gathering of nobles. "You should have all been there the they day the two met, love I first sight. Such a beautiful moment, the noble Lord Davis saved the princess from a marriage to a ruthless warlord. And when he was told he could not have the princess' hand, he marched out and killed the warlord that was pledging the kingdom." It was anything but, it was Taichi who had saved her and the warlord was nothing more than a third son from a northern backwater.

Taichi came forward and grabbed Davis with one arm in a bear hug, still telling everyone about their adventures in Ming. Some of it were true and some was fantasy, Davis did not know the Captain had such a imagination; maybe it was the alcohol the Captain probably drank during the duration of waiting for Davis' entrance.

As the party began to breath life, dancing, music, and eager lords drinking their fair share of the new world wine, at times Davis caught Taichi in hot discussion with the presence of Lady Lily Crowle - who had a blush on her face the entire night. And Sora of Windsor, equally in such frantic discussion with Taichi. The contents of what they were screaming to each other about, Davis never did learn but it seemed as though Taichi was acting as his old usual self, just as he was before the loss of his commoner wife - although Davis could also note that their discussion was brought on after both Taichi and Sora of Windsor had drank more than one glass of wine.

Davis excused himself for some fresh air on one of the many balconies the large ballroom had to offer. He had finally had sometime to talk with his mother, she seemed pleased with his so called choice in a "wife", his sister too was impressed but he did not bother to acknowledge her, still bitter about her betrayal. At the moment his mother and sister were parading Ami around to the other nobles, probably showing off as it was the their noble nature to do so. He had wanted ask the Lord Captain why he had tricked the entire royal court into believing he and Ami were a couple. In fact, he wanted to know what had started this all, was the Lord Captain being a trickster? Davis had shown no indications that he had a slight crush on Ami, perhaps it was the Lord Captain doing him a favour.

He gazed at the stars that night, they were no different from the ones he had seen half away across the world and the ones he seen as a child in Liverpool. Even though Davis felt as though he was not in control of his life anymore, the stars stayed constant, never changing. Yet tonight, one star did catch his eye. Through his training in the army, star charts were a common knowledge, and this star tonight he did not recognize. It was bright, brighter than any he had seen before. And it became yet more bright until Davis' brain could process what it really was - it was already too late. The manor in which he stood became a blaze with red hot fire, screams escaped as the fire encircled the balcony. The source of the panic hovered directly above him. They were under attack.

* * *

Notes: Ami and Rei are both manga characters, Rei getting Taichi's Zeromaru in this made up anime universe of course.


	47. Book 5 Chapter 3

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 3: Daimon Masaru**

"Boring!" He declared as he stuffed another piece of pork into his mouth, chewing loudly and with his mouth wide open. His companion, sitting across from him, with some dignity and table manners merely sipped on her tea, ignoring the irritated teen.

"Masaru-san, you know Taichi-kun hasn't given us clearance to leave the ship. The party'll be over soon and we'll be on our way tomorrow." She paused as she politely put down her tea cup - fashioned in fine European china instead of the traditional clay cups she would otherwise find back in Japan. "You know, I don't remember you having much manners even back in Ming."

He merely huffed at her and turned his focus to his other companion, this one sitting beside him. Just like his master Agumon too, was stuffing food down his empty vacuum of a stomach, the thick dark sauce of the pork roast all over his red arm straps.

Without stopping his continuous intake of food, Agumon complained about how he wished he was in Taichi's Agumon's place right now, sampling the fine food at the royal manor. Agumon then started to daydream about the many food he would like to see if he were at the manor, all of which without stopping his chewing.

Even Masaru was somewhat grossed out by his partner's ability but he too wished he were at the manor right now, it would have been much more interesting than being stuck on board the ship. Aside from this morning's exciting flyby with their Digimon - more like showing off as first suggested by Taichi that morning - he had thought his fellow Japanese and dimension traveller had gone mad. After all the fanfare of that morning, the day otherwise was quiet. He had said his farewells to both Davis and Koushiro, expecting this to the be last time they would encounter each other - after all, their plan was to find where the gate to their own world would appear on the day of the eclipse. He had gotten used to their presence in the last few weeks with their travelling, especially growing close to Davis who reminded Masaru of himself at that age.

They had used the wide open space of the ocean's sky on their voyage to help train each other. Although Davis had a mega level Digimon, he lacked the skills required to be a first class team. Masaru had taken it upon himself to the train the young Lord of Liverpool - at first Magnamon was being roughed up day in and day out but after their short time together at sea, Masaru had seen some improvements, although not to the point of himself or Taichi. Masaru had looked forward to the day he and his fellow dimension traveller would be able to spar against each other again but that was not possible so far, as Taichi had used all his free time locked up with Koushiro and Rei in the map room trying to find out the likely location of where the gate would appear, off course leaving out much of the details to Koushiro. Therefore, Masaru had spent his pent up energy in beating up Davis in the form of training. If not, he would use his extra time when Davis and Magnamon were too beat up to continue, and fly far from the ship to train ShineGreymon in his Burst Mode, still holding onto it as a trump card; the less people knew, the less likely the enemy would gain an upper hand in battle.

Masaru pouted again, slumping his body and resting his head onto the table top, "Boring."

Masaru did not notice the giant vain popping from his companion sitting across from him.

"Mou!" Rei shouted in frustration and stabbed her fork at the table, visibly frightening Masaru and Agumon. "I can't take this anymore! I'm heading up so that I don't have to suffer from your whining any longer!"

Masaru still scared to death by Rei's actions, merely stood to watch as his travelling companion left for the upper decks. Yet, before Rei could exit the small dinner cabin, she was pushed upon and land square on her bottom as a random soldier ran into the room, look frantic. "Lord Daimon-san!" The soldier fumbled between his European and Japanese honorific, "The manor's been attack! Lord Captain Basse Normandie is missing and we haven't had communications with Lord Manchester or Liverpool!"

Rei recovered from her fall quick and looked wide eye at Masaru.

"Rei, you gather the soldiers to help find Taichi-san." He looked towards her as she acknowledge his orders. Masaru then turned to his Digimon partner and without any words, Agumon stood to his feet and rushed to his side. "Agumon and I will take care of whoever is attacking." Without another word, he and Agumon were out the door and onto the sky deck of the ship.

He looked towards the large manor off in the distance, thick black smoke cover the night sky. The bright stars covered by darkness, blacker than anything Masaru had seen before. Even from that far distance he could feel the heat radiating at him. On a closer look he could see what had caused this destruction - a bright flaming figure hovering in the night sky. He could also see a golden figure opposite of the enemy, each trying to square the other up, hovering at a standstill.

Grabbing his Digivice Brust attached to his belt, he quick concentrated on his hand. Trying to find all the emotions he had, his focus was to gather them into his hand. His hand soon began to shine and a fire of digital code burst forth onto his hand. "Digisoul Full Charge! OVERDRIVE!" He called out as he brought his flaming hand onto his Digivice Burst.

"Agumon Shinka!" Agumon was surrounded by the light of Masaru's Digisoul and was soon replaced by his mega form. "ShineGreymon!"

His Mega Digimon flew with blinding speed towards the two Digimon now fighting against each other. Masaru was quickly given a horse by one of the soldiers. He raced through the city, it was mostly empty as many were already off to bed, dreaming of another day's hard work to come, but for those who were richer than rich, they came upon to the streets to see what had caused the brilliant fire that was escaping to the night's sky. Masaru neatly dodged those who were in his way, although he had never ridden a horse before, it came natural to him.

He could see that his Digimon was still miles away from the two combatants but ShineGreymon was closing in on them. He could see the two fighting, his well trained eyes from his past battles honed into the two Digimon. He did not recognize the enemy but the golden armoured Digimon was no doubt Davis' Magnamon and from his past battles against the Royal Knights, it was a weird feeling to be rooting for one. He hurried his horse's pace while keeping one eye glued to the fight.

The two Digimon flew at each other parrying each other with their melee attacks, it looked as though the two just bounced off each other from on top of his horse. The Digimon were able to catch their breaths for a second and then, both shot amazing displays of lights at each other, Magnamon's glowing golden and the mysterious Digimon's red fire, each raining upon the other. This continued again and again as Masaru became closer and closer to where the two Digimon where fighting. He was so close, he could hear the two shouting their attacks.

"Plasma Shoot!" "Arrow of Apollo!", again brilliant lights streamed across the night sky before meeting their targets. However, it seemed this time it was Magnamon who came out the worst, he was short of breath and his once golden armour no long shined in the moonlight, it was scratched and dirty. It seemed Magnamon had lost it's concentration for a moment and in that moment, the mysterious Digimon came withe blinding speed at Magnamon, without his opponent noticing, the mysterious Digimon raised it's hand to deliver the final blow.

"Pheobus Blo…" The Digimon was not able to finish his attack when ShineGreymon arrived just in time to save his compatriot.

"Glorious Burst!" The mysterious Digimon backed off in the nick of time and turned to face ShineGreymon as Masaru himself arrived at the burning manor house. Not having the ability to take in two task at a time, Masaru fully concentrated on the battle between his Digimon and the mysterious one, hoping desperately that everyone was okay from the surprise attack.

"God of the golden bow, And of the golden lyre, And of the golden hair, And of the golden fire, Of the patient year, Where slept thine ire, Thy laurel, thy glory, The light of thy story, Apollomon!" It declared. A silence emitted throughout the night before Apollomon once again spoke, "It is common curtsy of Roma for each of us to present ourselves to each other before a battle."

ShineGreymon looked confused for a second then smirked with acknowledgement, "ShineGreymon, slayers of the Royal Knights and Yggdrasil." ShineGreymon declared smugly.

"How dare you refer to Lord Yggdrasil. By the glory of the sun's burst, I will punish you for ruining the great name of Lord Yggdrasil. Prepare yourself!" And before Masaru or ShineGreymon could comprehend, the golden Apollomon was on them, a hard fiery punch to the midsection of ShineGreymon sent him flying towards the burning manor. ShineGreymon was hit hard, enough so that his landing created a crater around him and collapsing what remained of the manor house.

ShineGreymon was able to recover and shake his head out of a dizzy spell. He looked towards Apollomon, standing mightily in the night sky. ShineGreymon than looked towards Masaru and at once Masaru knew what his Digimon was thinking. Bringing forth his Digivice at the same time his Digimon slammed his fist onto the ground, they both shouted, "GeoGrey Sword!" and a mighty two bladed sword appeared out of flames. ShineGreymon with his mighty sword, launched himself at the fiery Apollomon, one swinging his sword and the other throwing his blazing fists. This melee sparing continued for minutes as they tried to tire one another other.

Apollomon huffed as to say he was becoming bored of this fight and when ShineGreymon once again swung his sword at him, Apollomon caught it with his bare hand, shocking both ShineGreymon and Masaru; who became wide eye and nearly dropped his Digivice Burst. Apollomon looked smugly at ShineGreymon and then his hand that caught the sword became a flamed. It happened so fast, Masaru and ShineGreymon where not able to react as the GeoGrey Sword shattered into tiny fragments, leaving only one blade and it's hilt in tact. Realizing what had happened, ShineGreymon spun his blade around but once again Apollomon caught it with his bare hands and once again a mighty fire distorted what remained of the once brilliant blade. With a third move by his flaming hand, Apollomon sent ShineGreymon once again flying backwards.

"I see the bright light. I feel the the warmth from the light. I can't believe I do not back away in fright. I am the mightiest of flames!" It once again sang out.

Masaru and ShineGreymon both reacted when they heard what Apollomon had said, smirks reigned on Masaru's face. "Mightiest of flames you say?" Masaru huffed, "Then I'll show you a flame that burns a hundred time hotter than yours." Masaru once again brought forth his Digivice as both it and ShineGreymon began to glow once again with Masaru's Digisoul.

"Charge! Digisoul BURST!" A large fiery ball appeared above ShineGreymon and then proceeded to envelope him. The flames soon burst outwards and ShineGreymon appeared unharmed and renewed with power, "ShineGreymon Burst Mode!"

"What is this sorcery!" Apollomon declared. ShineGreymon at once flew towards the shock Apollomon with speed but not enough so that Apollomon quickly recovered from the shock and fired an attack at the speeding Digimon, "Solblaster!"

A large ball of fire flew towards the charging ShineGreymon but he was prepared for it and called forth his flames to mould into his large shield, blocking the attack with easy. ShineGreymon continued towards Apollomon with haste and summon his flames into a sword. It was over before Apollomon could react, the sword had pierced his armour and stuck out from his back.

"Corona Blaze Sword!" With that, the sword burst into flames, engulfing Apollomon. It scream in agony before spiral code emitted from his body and soon, Apollomon disappeared into millions of light particles.

ShineGreymon once again became his rookie form while Masaru dropped to the floor, tired from the battle. A whistle came from behind him.

"Burst Mode hmm?" Taichi wondered out loud.


	48. Book 5 Chapter 4

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 4: Diannamon**

"Apollomon has been slained." She declared to everyone present in the room. They all turned to her, fully shocked.

"What is the meaning of this? Apollomon is the mightiest amongst us, it is impossible for the God of the Sun to fall." Neptunmon asked his sister, he knew better of Apollomon and took Diannamon's news without faith.

"It is just as I have said. Apollomon has been slain in battle, the enemy is stronger than we have expected." Still some did not believe her and turn to argue with her.

"Diannamon tells the truth." A voice echoed throughout the large round room, those gathered tried to locate the voice but failed. A Figure slowly approached from the only entrance to the room, as it was built on top of the highest mountain on this island. The figure was not a Digimon like the rest of them but human. He had wild chestnut brown hair, a set of golden armour and a red cape flew behind him. One hand was holding a large glowing orb as light pulsed from inside of it.

"My Lord Yggdrasil!" Diannamon was the first to acknowledge the supercomputer and it's human vessel, bowing as the others soon followed. A third figure appeared behind them, acting as a body guard, who Diannamon recognized as Dynasmon.

"Stand my faithful servants." Yggdrasil's voice emitted from the orb. "It is exactly as Diannamon have said, our faithful Apollomon has pasted. I must personally apologize as I did not warn you of the capabilities of those humans. I had not expected them to fight back and accept my request for them to leave this world, but once again these humans seek to ruin my perfect world." Yggdrasil continued as his human vessel only looked blankly at Diannamon, "You were all Digimon long abandoned by your human partners and I have gathered you for the purpose of creating a perfect world, without lost, so it is understandable you have not experienced the power that is the bond between human and Digimon."

"Hmp, who needs humans?" Marsmon declared openly.

"I had once thought of that too but I have seen the usefulness of such beings. As for Apollomon, I failed to mention that one human, by the name of Daimon Masaru has evolved his Digimon even further than a Mega."

"Is such a feat even possible? We are gods ourselves and even that is unheard of." Minervamon pondered, the other gods looked confused at Yggdrasil.

"I have misspoke. I mean it in a way to say, Daimon Masaru has become in tuned with his Digimon so much so, that he is able to sync his Digisoul and his heart into creating a more powerful mode for his Mega; Burst Mode."

"I have never heard of such a thing." Diannamon replied.

"Yes, I hardly believed it myself when I first saw it but through my darkest hours of defeat, I have come to see it as a powerful tools humans have. That is why I have gathered you, once gods yourself, to help aid me in my plight."

_To use us as your shields_. She quickly shook that thought out of her mind, she did not know why she questioned her Holy Lord. After all, it was Yggdrasil that saved her from endlessly roaming the land, not enough food to keep her fed and no where for her to sleep. She was once an outcast, a feral Digimon, a Digimon without a human master but Yggdrasil found her and offered her a new life, as a god and as a savour to all.

She and the rest that gather were very much the same, their history dark and full of pain. She remembered it as if it were yesterday and not a day had gone by did she not wish to return to her former state. She did not know how many years it had been, a few years or maybe a decade or so, a hundred years could have gone by and she did not know it. She had been summoned in the city of Roma long before the worship of Yggdrasil was outlawed, before the Romans were forced to worship a false god by a young boy who later became the head of the new cult church. It was many moons ago but she remember that day clear as the night sky; it was sunny that day, a mid-March breeze flew throughout the city, she awoke from her summoning to lock eyes with her new master. She did not know it that day but her master was an important figure, which she soon would find out. Her name was Artemis and she was but a day older than fifteen.

Diannamon soon learn the true nature of her master. Artemis was an orphan girl who had become a temple priestess when her arrival was foretold by a seer. It was no coincidence when her master had summoned her, a Mega level Digimon named after what the Roman's had called their moon, it only proved to everyone the holy nature of her master. That day was also the same day she had met her counterpart, Apollomon, summoned by a young priest the same age as her master. Diannamon had always thought of Apollomon as her twin and it sadden her the fate which he had faced. She wished she had been there to save him from those accursed humans, just as she wished she had been there to save her master.

It felt like the cruel laughter of the fates when she was reunited with her current group of comrades, as when they first had met, they were still very much under the protection of their masters and now they were free from such burdens yet she felt more used than ever. She remembered back, when they first had met, they were all guardian Digimon protecting a celestial priest, she had her Artemis, Apollomon had Helios, Marsmon and fiery Ares, Merukimon and quick acting Hermes, Minervamon and wise Athena, Neptunmon and King Poseidon, and finally the one everyone saw as an older brother to them all, Jupitermon and the old sage Zues. She should have foreseen what would happen the moment they all met.

She blame the humans for what had happened to her master, to what happened to all their masters. Artemis was a young girl when she was made priestess, too young to understand and just right to be tempted. Priestess were forbidden to love but it was her master's duty to fulfill the love been men and women. It had fallen onto the young Artemis to bless girls no older than herself a happy marriage and fruitful on, blessing girls seeking to please their husbands and to fill their belly's with sons and daughters. Diannamon should have seen it then, that her master too longed to be loved and too have her belly full of a men's seed. She should have seen how her master started to look at Helios, a priest in his own right, blessing those who were sick and dying for his comfort. Diannamon should have realized that her master had fallen in love with the boy, how he cared for others, and how she would take about him into the night. Her master had gone to midnight meetings with Helios and it was not until later Diannamon had finally realized the young innocent Artemis had become pregnant. That was when Diannamon's world shattered.

Her master and her sinful lover had both abandoned their holy oath and had planned on running away. It was troublesome at first, a girl ready to give birth was not a easy thing to hide. It was through their escape when her master finally gave birth, a girl which was named Selene. They had nearly escaped Roma when finally they became caught by the old sage Zues and Jupitermon. Seeing no escape, her master and her lover found a stream that very night and said their tearful goodbyes to their baby daughter. Diannamon did not know what happened to her master's daughter nor did she wish to find out, the baby could have drown or lived to a ripe old age. Having no energy to run any longer, it was Jupitermon that caused the death of her master. She and Apollomon both tried to fight back, trying to protect Artemis and Helios, but there were no match against the more experienced Jupitermon. When they were too preoccupied with Jupitermon, it was humans that caused the death of her master and her lover. She and Apollomon had no choice but to flee, they had become outcasts, masterless Digimon. She fled south to the safety of the mountains and sea, Apollomon to the north swearing on avenging his dead master.

It was not until years later, while she took refuge on the outskirts of a tiny island village when she heard news about the other guardians. Ares had angered an high noble official and was soon declared to be a cult leader, he too was killed and Marsmon outcasted, Hermes had met his end when his temple was raided by a local warlord needing gold to sell for weapons, Athena lived until her late fifties when she was finally stricken down in battle. King Poseiden, a lowly priest and ruler of the south islands was already old and sickly when Diannamon herself was summon, yet Neptunemon stayed there and protected the islands as much as he could, before the Roman's brought their new religion upon them. She did not know what happened to Jupitermon, only hoping that he would be eternally rioting in mud to this day.

They had all wondered endlessly, having contacted with each other only a few times whenever they crossed paths, but is was their Lord Yggdrasil that finally brought them together and declared them his holy knights. They all swore their eternal loyalty to his cause. _Humans were the cause of all problems in this world_ and when Yggdrasil told them he was going to subjugate them into mindless shells, it was finally their time to avenge their long dead masters.

"My Lord Yggdrasil, let me avenger brother Apollomon's defeat." Marsmon shouted, all eyes turned to him and he human vassal of Yggdrasil gave him a questioning look.

"You will lose." The human replied blankly.

"What! What does a human know about the power of gods?" Marsmon rebutted, smoke rising from his body as flames of anger engulfed him. Without notice Marsmon charged at the human, his fist flaming with the hottest fire, "Infinite Surge!"

Diannamon braced her self and prayed for the human's soul. She had witnessed first hand what Marsmon's impulsive rage could do and the human would not survive.

"Dragon's Roar." Diannamon opened her eyes to see the human unharmed and still having his smug smirk on his face. The Digimon that had arrived with her Lord Yggdrasil had protected them and Marsmon looked madder than ever.

"Taichi is right, you are too enflamed with emotion, you will easily be defeated by those humans." Yggdrasil once again began to glow as he spoke up. The two, Yggdrasil and the human turned to face Diannamon herself.

"Diannamon, you are my most loyal and the strongest next to Apollomon. You shall be the one to lead my army."

"Of course My Lord." She bowed.

"Dynasmon, Minervamon, you shall go with Diannamon." Yggdrasil ordered, both Digimon nodded to their master. "Taichi, prepared a gate for them."

"Yes My Lord." The human replied, Diannamon stood close to her two allies, one she did not trust and the other, her eternal sister. They readied themselves as the human brought forth a golden box. He held it to face them and exclaimed, "DigiPort Open!"

With a bright flash, Diannamon forced opened her closed eyes to find she was no longer in the safety of the temple but instead they were floating in the morning sky, beneath them a large city. Humans turn to look at them, they were awestruck and frightened. Diannamon could see the damage Apollomon had made, even though it had been some time, a day by her count, the damage by her brother could be easily seen.

"Sister, we must find the human's responsible for our brother's death." She called to Minervamon, not paying attention to their third member of their team.

"Lord Yggdrasil has given me permission to do as I please. These humans are merely in the way." Dynasmon stated as he flew closer to the city. "Humans are a plague!" Dynasmon declared as he readied himself to attack.

"What is the meaning of this? These humans are innocent, we are to only fight those responsible for our brother's death!" Diannamon tried to stop her ally but was already too late.

"Dragon's Roar!" Two energy beams flew from Dynasmon's parted hand, the beams quickly reached a group of humans, too shocked to run away and it was all but too late for them.

The beams reach them and exploded but not before a large cry could be heard, "Shield of the Just!" The smoke soon cleared and instead of a large fire and crater, stood a red caped Digimon.

"Gallantmon! So another traitorous Royal Knight has shown himself." Diannamon could hear Dynasmon whisper.

"Digivolve!" "Digisoul Full Charge! OVERDRIVE!" Voices could heard coming at them from another direction, Diannamon and her two allies turned to see the on coming enemy Digimon. "WarGreymon X" "ShineGreymon!"

"More of Yggdrasil's clowns?" One of the humans declared, a group of them were being carried by a large winged, blue armoured Digimon and some where on top of a large purple beetle.

"You disgrace Yggdrasil's good name!" Diannamon declared as she readied her double moon crescent. "Which one of you was responsible for our brother Apollomon's death?"

"Tch, that weakling?" One of the human's declared, he had longer hair than the rest, he punched his fist and looked smugly at her. It angered her, a human looking down on her and especially the same human that had the power to kill her brother.

"I will be the one to avenge our brother. Minervamon, Dynasmon, make sure they do not interfere." She declared as she charged for the human, he was standing on the shoulder of the blue armoured Digimon. As she became closer, she noticed his smirk and became cautious about what the human had up his sleeves. In an instant, the human jumped from the blue armoured Digimon and his momentum carried him right at her, his fist met with her head and she was knocked back, surprised at the human's strength. Unseen by her, the human's hand which had hit her began to glow an orange flame. She recovered and saw the now falling human bring forth a similar box to Yggdrasil's human vassal.

"Charge! Digisoul BURST!" One of the enemy Digimon flew towards the falling human and at once both were consumed by a great ball of fire.

"ShineGreymon, Burst Mode!" The ball of fire dispersed and a pair of fiery wings emerged, flapped and in an instant the new Digimon Yggdrasil had warned her about was upon her.

It faced her and their eyes locked, in the moment of shock she was unable to bring her weapon up and in that moment, the new Digimon summoned his sword of pure fire and with one slash she understood why Apollomon was outmatched. The pain burned, it was hotter than anything she had felt before, Yggdrasil had known, Marsmon's flames was no match, and even Apollomon, the incarnation of the sun would have felt the hot burning force. She dropped to the ground before she could recover, energy all but gone from her. If one attack could do this to her, she imagined Apollomon not lasting much longer. Her eyes were starting to close, she looked towards her sister, she was locked in a hard battle with the one Dynasmon called Gallantmon and Dynasmon himself was losing against the orange armoured Digimon. The one called ShineGreymon, slayer of her brother flew meters above her, looking down at her and readied for any counterattack she would have. Yet she had none, she did not expect this battle to end so suddenly.

She let her head role to it's side, too tired to be concentrating on other battles. It was then she saw what she could not believe. there in front of her, cowering in an ally way, as clear as day, stood her master. _It can not be, I saw with my own eyes how Jupitermon killed master._ She looked closer, indeed the girl looked exactly as her master, but instead of fine silver silk hair of her master, this girl had a deep brown but everything about her was just as her master.

"Lily!" A voice quickly called and another human girl, this time with amber red hair rushed to her former master and tried to shield her from Diannamon's eyes.

"Chhhheee!" She heard Dynasmon cry out in frustration. "Yggdrasil will not be pleased! Dragon Breath!" A large energy flew from Dynasmon and transformed into the shape of a large dragon. So large that immediately Dynasmon lost control and instead of going towards the orange Digimon Dynasmon was engaged with, it flew towards her and her master.

She did not have any energy left and her eyes closed bracing for impact.

* * *

Notes:  
Originally I wanted this to be two chapters, the first one introducing Diannamon and the rest of the Olympus12 and the next one to be a sea battle. However, the cast of characters I have is getting too large and I'm losing track of them all. And once any show becomes in love with their characters via how Heroes was, the show gets too confusing and my solution to that is to kill some off.

Holy mother of! Anyone seen the ending to the new Digimon Hunters episode? It blew my mind and kind of ruined the epilogue I already wrote for Chronicles. Aside from that, best day of my life as I had always wanted such an event to happen in the Digimon universe.


	49. Book 5 Chapter 5

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 5: Lady Mimi de L'Alsace**

She felt happy, she felt loved, she felt wanted. Their bedchamber's windows faced west and every morning, as the room was design to do, the sunlight would shine it's warmth onto the sleeping couple. The sunlight was not a signal to awake from their slumber, rather it signified the warmth and love the two shared with each other. She could feel his flesh on her and no doubt he felt her's on his, it had become a routine for them, it was the only way to express their love; kissing could only go so far and the pure lust between the two of them was unbearable for her and she wanted to do whatever she could to please her lover. When she was first brought to the castle, she was unsure of what she was, a simple whore at times or a traitor to her people but days spent with Taichi now felt like bless, she would not trade it for anything in the world. So what if she was a traitor? So what if she was seen as a whore? All that mattered was to be embraced by him.

She had felt used when Taichi had told her about his doppelganger and it was only after his repeated kisses and words of comfort did she finally calm down. She had been disgusted with herself, to be so easily used by an unknown stranger and so betrayed, betrayed by the one she loved and betrayed by herself for believing such a creature was truly a deadman. A part of her had always known but she never wanted to believe it; she simply could not believe it - her childhood love to be alive, it blinded her from seeing the truth. But everything was going to be alright now, her Taichi had promised her, the real Taichi de Basse Normandie - the boy she felt in love with all those years ago and still loved to this every moment.

However, she questioned herself, was Taichi doing the right thing?

She had not asked but he had told her the gist of his plans, to bring peace to the world. No more wars, no more famines, no more hatred, a world of endless peace, a world where they could grow old together without worries, a world where they could have a family, a world for their children. And the enemy of the world her Taichi was about to create was none other than the one who faked his love to her. She should have saw it, the signs where there all along, the fake Taichi had never loved her. He was always distant, even when she had thrown herself at him he did not love her back, when she was beside him on his deathbed, his reply to her was to become excited about some amber haired wench he barely knew, and finally when his eyes met the little flower girl, he had all but forgotten about her and had silently declared his love for the flower. It was disgusting but the day would come when her true love avenged her. At first she felt tears with the mere thought of the fake Taichi but that soon turned to anger.

"Buon' giorno mia colomba." A husky voice whispered in her ears, it tickled her and made her slightly giggle. She felt his arms pull her closer to him, she could the calmness of his body warmth and no doubt he could feel her heart race. It had always started this way, simple embraces would turn into kisses and finally a night or morning of pure pleasure. They could spend the day in bed if time only allowed them such luxuries but their mornings of moaning and screams would often be interrupted by a chamber maid or two, reminding Taichi what was needed to be done that day. It was very much the same yesterday until Taichi was reminded of his meeting with Olympus, a group of rogue Digimon Taichi had told her was eternally loyal to him and had the same dream of a peaceful world.

"Go back to sleep darling." She replied as she snuggled her head onto his chest. She simply did not want to wake up and wanted this moment of bliss to last.

"Hmpf!" A cough was heard followed by the opening of the door which lead into their large bedchamber. She almost jumped from the sheer shock of it, as a large white figure approached their bed. She and her lover stood up slowly, making sure she covered her self as she was still very much naked.

"Whatever it is Dynasmon, it better be important if you had to wake me from enjoying my fiance this morning." Taichi stated as he glared at the white knight Digimon.

"My Lord, Marsmon has returned from his mission. King Osamu is no more." The white knight answered, she could see Taichi's expression changing from his earlier annoyance to one of deep thought. Mimi was shock to here this, it still felt unreal whenever she would hear news about her old classmates and noble families, but she was fully behind Taichi's dream and sacrifices had to be made. The King had once asked for her hand in marriage, it was that event which had sent her on this adventure. And with his death it felt as this adventure had come to an end. Mimi shook her head, it hurt her to have these thoughts and feelings as they brought back memories, even though she shared many happy moments with the fake Taichi, she still could not forgive him.

"And his Digimon?" Taichi asked.

"Taken care of by Marukirimon." Dynasmon once again answered plainly.

"Gather the others, we shall discuss our next course of action." Taichi commanded and at once he was up from their bed and half dressed by the time she noticed his absence from her side. He quickly kissed her, a soft kiss which made her heart flutter, and as she lingered in his kiss, he was gone, already down the hall from their bed chamber. Soon the chambermaids entered and brought her the dress she would be adoring for the day. A simple olive green dress, something Taichi would enjoy once he returned from his errands later that night. She had planned on going into the city, she had wanted to buy Taichi something that showed her love for him, even if it meant walking down streets with eyes full of hate on herself.

The city, what was once the centre of Royal's power - Central had become home for Taichi's regime and thusly he had renamed it Versailles. Although most of the opposing families had fled to the New World, the poorer loyalist had nowhere to run and was force to acknowledge Taichi as emperor. Mimi had almost laughed when Taichi announced his full title to her, "Emperor of Roma, King of Britannia Province, King of Royal Province, King of Italia Province." and so on and so one - and soon to be Emperor of Ming once the eastern campaign was over with. She once again giggled at the thought, she liked a man with power.

"My Lady looks beautiful today." One of the chambermaids exclaimed once they had finished dressing Mimi. She looked herself in the mirror, the chambermaids had done their magic, she indeed looked beautiful. _But not enough for him to keep his eyes on you!_ She was reminded of the fake Taichi. She felt anger coming to her but did not show it to the others. _He will get his one day, he'll die alone and I will be with my beloved Taichi forever._ She looked herself over one last time and ordered her carriage to be ready. Although she wanted to be by herself when she explored the markets, Taichi had insisted that a dozen royal guards be there to protect her from the dangers she would face from loyalist and from the fruit throwing mobs.

She looked outside of her carriage window, life in the city was relatively the same but she could feel the dark cloud hanging on everyone's mind as her carriage drove by. The day was bright as it was that morning, but clouds could be seen on the horizon, it felt ominous to her, maybe something big was to happen soon. She had then decided to make a quick stop at the city's large cemetery after her shopping trip, it would put her mind at ease and she wanted to respect those who had past. The Picardy, the Lorraine, the Auvergrie, the Huite Normandie, even Taichi's parents, the Basse Normandie, all dead when the city came under siege. She got out of her carriage and stood beyond the graves of the two elder Basse Normandie. She stood in silence. _I am sorry you had to house that lier. I wished you were still all here, blessing Taichi and I on a happy marriage in the future._

Saying good bye to her dead parents-in-law, she continued on her way to the market. It was a somber trip, after visiting the graves of people who were just alive a few weeks ago - her mind was empty, only enjoying the sight as her carriage sped along the city streets. As she near the markets, people on the streets began to gather as the centre of the city was still a bustling metropolis, loyalist and Roman-supporters alike. Yet, they all gave way to her carriage as it near the crowds; people in the city knew of how she betrayed their former King, rumours had been flying around that she had ran away from King Ken only to betray the kingdom to the Romans. Only Taichi and herself knew the truth, she did not care if they hated her.

She could see the faces of the people, all of them starring at her with blank faces, some in awe and some with hate. They also became silent as her carriage pulled long as they lined the streets; murmurs could be heard but she did not care for what commoners thought of her. Seeing her target; the many stores of the main market, she called for her carriage to be stopped and for her to be allowed out. Of course her guards were present too, making sure no harm would come to her as she wonder the streets.

She went from shop to shop, the patrons of each shop accommodating her personally but she had thus yet to see anything that had interested her - and she doubt anything that did not interest her would interest Taichi. So she continued on, determined to find something for him.

It was then as she rounded a corner for one of the more upper class stores, her face exploded in red juice and she could feel a squishy flesh on her face. Taken aback, Mimi had realized she had been hit by a tomato - a tomato that someone that threw at her.

"Guards! Who is responsible for this!" She wailed. The crowd stood by each side, silent before the guards had returned to her, bridging back the culprit. She looked at the figure; a boy, no older than eight years of age, his face was mixed with tears and anger once he looked up her.

"Give him back! Give my daddy back!" The boy screamed as he spat at her.

_Disgusting, absolutely disgusting. Do these commoners not have any decency? IS this how they treat their queen? They are more animals than I thought. _"Who is this boy's mother?" She called out amongst the crowd.

A women, in rages had come streaming forwards in fright, "Please milady! Milady, he did not mean anything by it. Please, he is only a boy." The woman pleaded, she had made her way up to Mimi and was begging, pulling on Mimi's expensive dress Taichi had gifted her.

Mimi's face twisted with anger. _Disgusting! _"You are correct he is but a boy, but you are his mother and it is the mother's duty to teach her son how to respect his Queen. Guards, bring this disgusting creature to the prisons, the city's streets do not need such filthy stains."

She could see the fear in the woman's eyes. She could see the fear her son had and she could see the fear every single person among the crowd had. _That'll teach them to think twice before crossing my path. Disgusting creatures they all are, pure filth!_


	50. Book 5 Chapter 6

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 6: The Red Devil**

"The square root of an orbital season is thirty seven and the rotation of the geia is twenty three point four degrees, which means the day and place of the black sun will be…in thirteen days in the presence of Western Europa…" Although Koushiro was given back the title of Manchester, it did not curb his enthusiasm for the natural sciences. He had already made plans to ask King Cody to allow him to chart an expedition to the South Pole once the war had died down and after he had finished his obligations to Taichi de Basse Normandie. His newly trusted friend had to rush off that morning after word was sent from Mount Royale about the assassination of King Osamu. It was his friends duty as it was his, their loyalty lied solely to King and Country, that was why he understood Taichi's hurriedness. Yet before Taichi had left, he had given Koushiro one more order as Koushiro was now free from Taichi's capture, it was still a task he owed to the Lord Captain for saving his life. The task? To find out when and where the day of the black sun would happen and it was Taichi who had said he had his full faith on Koushiro solving it.

He carefully wrote down his findings, adding in all his calculation so that Taichi could find someone to proof read it if there were any mistakes. Koushiro's mind wondered to his friend, he was quite worried about the young Lord Captain after the betray of his wife, Mimi; Taichi had not been in the right mind lately, often getting drunk or ignoring subjects, of course he still carried out his duties on the HMAS Reliant, a ship that had come to be recognized whenever someone mentioned Taichi's name. Koushiro had learnt that news of their exploits from South Wales, to Madras, to the Kingdom of Ming had become wide spread tales of adventure in the New World. Taichi's exploits had become so famous, people were starting to call him the chosen one, the one that would lead them to victory over the Romans and their new Emperor, the Golden Lion. Now that Koushiro had thought about it, the Golden Lion himself was a mystery and like many of the story's about Taichi's adventures, it made both of them look mythical in context.

A knock was heard at his door - he had bought himself a small farm house just at the outskirts of capital, York. The King had offered him a larger estate and a governership of the Delaware colony but Koushiro refused as he had wanted to within a short travelling distance to Taichi if he should ever need his services. His office parlour was located near his front door but thankfully one of his maids had answered the door.

"A Doctor Hyde to see you milord." The maid informed Koushiro and he gave a silent answer to tell the maid to bring the doctor into his office. The doctor was a tall and old man, probably the age of sixty from Koushiro's guess, born of a Royal mother and an Empire father. The very same doctor that served on the HMAS Reliant during their trip from to the Kingdom of Ming. He was hired during their stop in Madras, the doctor had a practice in the city by Taichi had promised the doctor good money to serve on the Reliant as acting doctor. Of course, now that Taichi was called back, there was no more need for the doctor or any of the ship's crew that had signed on which were not born of Royal blood.

The doctor sat down while Koushiro ordered his maid to send his notes to Taichi. "I hope you bring good news today doctor."

The doctor gave a heavy sigh, indicating to Koushiro the doctor did not bring the good news Koushiro was hoping for. "I'm afraid there is no good news milord. Where to start, where to start?" The doctor asked quietly.

"How are Davis and Tokato?" Koushiro asked as he tightly griped his armrest. The doctor's face turned dark, Koushiro shivered, hoping nothing too bad had happened to the two young Digimon tamers.

"I'm afraid both their Digimon have come under the same illness Lord Captain Taichi's Digimon had come under two months before." The doctor answered shaking his head. "We've tried everything but nothing has had any effect."

"What about those mushrooms we've came across in Western Ming?" Koushiro asked hopefully. Ever since Agumon's full recovery, Koushiro and the doctor had spent hours trying to uncover the secretes of both the mushrooms and the illness. They had come to call the illness "Digipox".

"That's just it milord, the mushrooms are having the opposite effects, every time they take a dose, they become more in pain. We don't know if the mushroom solely helps Digimon that are in their rookie form or if its only effective towards certain conditions." The doctor replied, Koushiro was the one who then sighed.

"And of the Digimon we captured?"

"Healing at an incredible pace, it's merciless she even survive the attack. She has come under the protection of Lord Crowle and his family, it seems they were thankful to the Digimon for protecting their daughter." The doctor answered.

Koushiro frowned, "I can not allowed that, the Digimon is an enemy and was responsible for an attack on the Empire."

"Milord, Lord Crowle does not believe the Digimon would do anymore harm."

Koushiro sighed, "Please have the King's Guard keep an eye on her then. We cannot allow the King to be in anymore danger. If it were not for the quick thinking by Lord Captain Taichi, the King would not be alive today." It was a miracle the King was still alive, Taichi had acted out of impulse but his quick thinking had saved everyone by quickly evacuating everyone from the burning manor house. Further damage to the evacuation was stopped by the combined powers of Davis and the former warlord turned crew Daimon Masaru. Actually, it was really Masaru who was able to defend the city from the mysterious fire Digimon. Even further mysterious was Masaru's Mega Digimon to further change his form, something Koushiro was looking forward to looking into, but for now, the war had to come first.

"If that is all milord, I should return to my practice, there are more patients to attend. I shall send word if anything changes."

"Please do and good day to you good doctor." The doctor bowed to Koushiro and preceded to put on his bowler hat and remove his cane from his chair. The maids saw him out allowing Koushiro to become deep in thought. How Magnamon and Gallantmon become infected with the Digipox was worrying, in fact how Taichi's Digimon was able to contract such a disease was still unknown. At first they had thought it was just a natural progressing of disease as it was not uncommon for humans to contract the flu in colonies such as Madras. However Agumon had been the first ever Digimon in recorded history to become infected with an illness, it had never been heard of before. Although he was not there to witness Taichi's Agumon's new Mega form, the name itself gave him some clues. However the two recent cases had been out of the blue, it was after the battle with Diannamon in which the two Digimon began showing signs of the illness.

He mouth the words slowly, "WarGreymon X". Could the X indicate a new species of Digimon or maybe a new level, there was nothing in his books that showed anything about this X indentation. _Maybe the X meant the Digimon has overcome Digipox but then again Agumon was already cured even before the new form of evolution_. The whole situation confused Koushiro to no end and he somehow wished he had a greater knowledge of natural sciences; that was one reason he greatly wanted to chart an expedition to the South Pole.

Another knock on his office door interrupted any further thoughts. His maid entered his office and proceeded to inform him Lady Sora of Windsor and Lady Ami of Liverpool were here to spend afternoon tea with him. Dropping his book, a large study on Digimon armour by a famous Lord explorer before Koushiro's generation, he made his way to the farm house's neatly decorated living room. The room was not as large as his old manor in Manchester or richly decorated like Taichi's South Wales' governors manor, but it had a warm feeling and the tanned leather sofas were very comfortable instead of being solely used as decor. The two noble lady were already seated and the maid had brought them a tray filled treats, such as small cakes and biscuits. Koushiro had thought the sight to be surreal, Ami had only been in the Empire's social elite for less than a week and already she had adapted to every mannerism a lady of class needed and quickly became friends with Sora. Koushiro knew Ami's engagement to Davis had at first been a joke by Taichi but after the two had not denied the facts and with the chaos that had ensued by the recent attacks, Davis' mother had, without the knowledge of Davis himself, hurried the marriage process and only yesterday announced to the rest of them Davis had been officially married off to Ami; if Davis was not so worried about the health of his Digimon, he would have nearly fainted.

"Good afternoon my ladies." Koushiro nicely bowed to the two girls, the red head smiled at her old friend. Koushiro seated himself on a single chair positioned across from the sofa the two girls had been seated, he poured himself a cup of tea, dark brown in colour while the steam perfumed the room with a flowery and herbal scent. Dropping in two sugar cubes and taking a sip, Koushiro focused his eyes on the two, signalling them to ask why they were here in his farm house.

Sora gave him an innocent look but at the same time Koushiro could see Sora was bursting with questions she wanted to ask. Koushiro continued to drink his tea, Sora's voice was empty but after some time she had finally found her comfort.

"I'm glad your alive." She started.

"But that is not what you're hear for. Go head, ask any question you wish." Koushiro calmly stated.

"Where were you? Did they treat you alright? Who's this Lord Taichi? How did Davis meet Ami?" If Koushiro did not have a trained ear, he could have swore Sora shouted all those question with a single breath sounding like a single word.

"Well, first we were in South Wales then later we were commissioned to drive a warlord out of Ming." Koushiro replied, promptly leaving out the fact that Daimon Masaru was the indicated warlord. "And what do you mean who's Lord Taichi, didn't you already meet him during your childhood and what about that buddy-buddy argument you two had during the party?" Koushiro remembered the one time Taichi had received a letter from his sister, the young man was jumping for joy once he had read Sora's name.

"What are you talking about? I have never met Taichi de Basse Normandie until the day of Davis' and your reinstatement. As for what we were talking about, we were both much too drunk to remember." She replied.

"But…but..he said you two were childhood friends, that your fathers did business together back in the homeland." Koushiro was at a lost of words, it was not like the captain to lie about things and he had seemed so honest and joyous whenever Sora was mentioned.

"Koushiro, think clearly. My father had abandoned us since I was but a baby, Lord Taichi's father certainly could have done business but certainly I would not have been present and certainly not in the homeland." Koushiro was shocked, Sora was right. It was nearly impossible for Taichi and Sora to have met through their fathers now that he thought about it.

"Whatever it may be, I'm sure Lord Captain Taichi had his reasons." It was Ami who broke the silence and Koushiro made a note to thank her afterwards for the assist.

"Speaking of which." Sora now turned her focus on Ami, "Tell me how the Captain came across our dear Ami. And please, no lies, I'm well aware she is not a princess of Ming."

"How?" Again Koushiro was at a lost for words.

"Although she may be a fast learner, she still required some lessons by Davis' mother in order to act like a lady. Furthermore, I know for a fact that the Ming Royal family only has two daughters, one who is already married off and another who is only six years of age. Davis' mother may not see it and I know how she loves Ami, but I can not allow someone who could potentially be a spy into the court." Sora plainly stated.

"Wait Sora, I can explain!" Koushiro was quick to his feet, fearing Sora would run out the house if he were not to produce the truth. He took a deep breath and ready himself, Ami of course looked like her calm self, something Koushiro could not understand. Koushiro began to speak but was interrupted by Ami herself.

"I'm a whore." She plainly stated. Sora looked shocked, the same could be said for Koushiro. "I was a simple slave girl bought by a whore house, I was to pleasure men but it was my first time and I was terrified. The customer was an important noble and I did not know what to do and when he tried to undress me, I began to scream. The noble did not take well to what I had done and threw me onto the streets, ready to slain me for all to see and it was then Taichi-sama, sorry, Lord Taichi saved me. He offered me a job as Davis' washer girl." Ami slowly explained, her eyes tearing from the horror of the memories. "I never meant to lie to everyone, it's just that Davis has been so kind to me, I wish to repay him anyway I could. I knew there was nothing I could do but I had thought maybe he would like for me to pleasure him as a thank you. And when Lord Taichi had announced our fake engagement I had thought it would be the perfect opportunity to show master Davis how much he meant to me."

Koushiro had half expected Sora to march out and the other half to have slapped the pour Ming girl. Instead, Sora had took a full embrace of the girl and tried to calm her down as if a mother were to do the same to her child. For the second time that day, Koushiro was absolutely speechless. Sora slowly willed the young Ming girl back to her former state, telling the young girl that everything would be okay and that Sora did not care if she was some commoner girl or even a rich noble, as long as she loved Davis. Ami had replied that she indeed did and that she did not care if Davis did not love her back, as long as she could be close to him, her heart was a peace. While this was going on, Koushiro could have swore he heard distant sounds of a horse galloping towards the farm house's general direction.

His main door swung open and a platter of boats could be heard rushing into his farm house. Koushiro became alert, he did not have hid Digimon, Megakabuterimon around as it was helping with the rebuilding efforts of the King's manor. A tall red coat entered his living room, panting from hurrying to Koushiro's home no doubt. "My Lord! More Digimon have appeared, we need your help in defending the city!"


	51. Book 5 Chapter 7

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 7: The Moon Goddess**

"Waaaaa!" The once silent room was now filled with a harsh scream, new life had entered into this world and it announced it to the world. As a Digimon who was only summoned months before, it was a familiar sensation but life breathed into a Digimon was different from life born into this world. Digimon were not souls who came into this world without knowledge, instead a great conscience who she believed to be the legendary Yggdrasil had long gave her all the knowledge she required at the moment of her summoning. Still, the scream brought shivers to her, it may be the one time in her life she would witness such a miracle.

"She beautiful." Her master had managed to whisper in her weakened state, she looked physically exhausted. Diannamon too, focused on the bundle in her master's hands, yet she did not understand what beauty had meant. The child was bloodied and still weeping, Diannamon did not find anything appealing about this but her master gave all her attention to it. Even though her master was on the verge of passing out due to the process of childbirth, she still used all her energy in order to protect the little body.

"She has your eyes." Another voice stated - Diannamon did not like the person the voice came from, she had blamed their current predicament on him. The child's father, a young man who was of the same age as her master, the one that stole her master's heart and caused her to abandon her post as the Moon Priestess. The young man was of average height, of average built, and with in Diannamon's eyes, average looks for a human, his only notable attraction was his long, wild crimson red hair; Diannamon had compared it to a lion's mane, suitable for a master who's Digimon was a lion.

Diannamon took a look at the child, indeed it did have her master's silver iris', the colour of the moon. The child had calmed down by now and was sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. Diannamon could see that her master too was on the verge of falling sleep, it was a wonderful sight, mother and child sleeping in a bed of hay, a single ray of moonlight shawn onto the pair. Soon her master indeed did fall a sleep. Her master's lover, her rival for her master's affection, stood beside her, she could see the seer wonderment in his eyes. The two just stood by, watching mother and child sleeping peacefully. She did not know how many minutes had gone by, it seemed like hours, but the two continue to watch until the moon was at it's highest peek.

However, their peace would soon come to an end, as a shining light could be seen in the sky flying towards them. When her master's lover and herself notice the speck in the sky, they moved outside their small shack to great their returning ally. The small light soon became visible, light was replaced by a fiery mane, fire like wings flapped in the sky. Apollomon soon landed in front of his master and Diannamon, he looked hurried which meant no doubt he had brought bad news with him.

"What news do you bring my loyal servant?" Helios asked. Although he was no long the head priest of the Sun temple, years of people worshiping him certainly did not humble him. Maybe it was that high and mighty attitude her master had fallen in love with, but then again, love was not a subject she understood.

"Lord Zues has ordered the Legionnaire to search and destroy any evidence of your existence. I did my best to escape but I had already spotted a group of them not too far from here." Apollomon had looked visibly shaken.

"We must warn Artemis!" Helios had hurried shouted. Their meeting was soon interrupted by the sound of footstep coming out from the shed. Diannamon turned to face her master, she was wide eye from hearing the news about their pursers. "Artemis!" Helios replied at the shook of her presence.

"Helios, it's just as the seer as shown, Zues is after us." She calmed stated.

"Don't worry, Apollomon and I are more than enough to take on Zues and Jupitermon! We'll protect you and our baby, I promise."

"No, do not promise me something you and I know will not be kept. We cannot escape the fates but our child still can." Artemis replied, Helios looked shocked. "I have been preparing for this day, the day when we must say good bye to our daughter."

"What…what do you mean?" Helios shouted towards his lover, but she was not effected by his emotions. Years of training to become the next priest of the moon temple had washed away any emotions when dealing with humans. She was to be otherworldly and her one weakness had became her downfall.

"I have prepared our daughter to be taken away. The seers have told me she will be brought to safety by the river's blankets. We will take our daughter, how much it may pain us, and have her taken down river to safety. She will not know our love for her but she will be safe." Artemis disappeared into the shed and soon returned with her new born, still sleeping soundly.

The journey to a nearby stream was a silent one, no body dared to make a voice. She could see that her master was trying to keep a brave face but knowing her as she did, Diannamon knew Artemis was dying inside. By the time they at arrived at the site, she noted her masters face was now stained with heavy tears. Helios had prepared a small basket and inlined it with a couple of blankets to keep his daughter warm on this cool night.

"Her name shall be Selene." Artemis announced.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful daughter." Helios replied. The two parents said their good byes, telling how much they loved the child. With his lover in his arms, Helios pushed the basket into the slow current of the stream, their child sailing beyond their reach forever.

"Such a pretty sight, born from two sinners. It is a pity this happy family will not last." The four turn to the source of the sound. A mob of fire lit up the night's sky, leading them was a old fellow who looked too frail to be even standing on his own two feet. Next to the old priest stood his guardian, his Digimon - Jupitermon.

"Master Zues." Helios managed to state as he grind his teeth. Helios' tensed up and blocked Artemis behind him, trying to protect her from the prying eyes of the Legionnaires and the dark look of Zues. Diannamon herself and Apollomon both stood in front of their masters, prepared for what was to come next.

"High Priestess Artemis and High Priest Helios, you have sin the ultimate sin. By order of King Hercules, I have been ordered to bring you to justice, dead or alive." Zues announced in his commanding voice, the numbers of Legionnaires were expressionless, ready to do as they were told.

"Like Hell I'll allow you!" Apollomon shouted out of impulse and charged towards Zues. "Pheobus Blow!" Unexpectedly, Jupitermon did not make a move, Apollomon speeding towards the large Digimon with his fist aflame. However at the last moment, Apollomon's attack was caught square on by Jupitermon, with not a scratch from the mega Digimon.

"You are too much of a fool if you believe you can harm me Apollomon." Jupitermon stated calmly as he intensified his grip on his brother's hand.

"Jupitermon!" Apollomon screamed in anger, his hair standing up on air. Apollomon's halo began to flare, his sphere of fire grew larger, "Sol Blaster!" Apollomon was able to free himself from Jupitermon's grip, however when the smoke cleared, Jupitermon emerged once again without a single stretch on his person.

Dianamon herself was busy with fending off the dozen Legionnaires trying to bring harm to her master. Herself being a Digimon, the standard weapon of the Legionnaires, the pike, was useless against her but the sheer number of them kept her on her foot. "Crescent Hook!" She spun her blades with her body, allowing her to blow away the Legionnaires but more just kept coming; she caught of glimpse of the old man, he looked bored with his body leaning on his walking cane, the Legionnaires rushing pass him.

Above her, she could see her brothers fighting one another, Jupitermon merely stood his ground while Apollomon wildly flew around. "Arrow of Apollo!" Hundreds of flames shaped as arrows flew towards Jupitermon.

"Ash of Io!" Jupitermon called out, a giant wall of flame surrounded the large Digimon. Apollomon's arrow merely hit the flaming wall and disappeared into oblivion. "Give up now Apollomon, you can not defeat me."

"I will not allow you to harm my master. Sol Blaster!" A giant solar orb launched towards Jupitermon, again their elder brother just stood.

"Hail of Europa!" Hundred of large ice spears appeared midair and flew against the charging sphere of solar energy. Once it hit, the sphere dispersed. Jupitermon however, failed to prepare himself as Apollomon charged towards him hiding behind his once large ball of solar energy.

The moment Apollomon was about to connect with his new attack, Jupitermon caught himself and launched another attack. "Gail of Ganymede" A large gust of wind hit the charging Apollomon and blew him to the side. "I do not have time for this Apollomon. Lights of Callisto!" Hundreds of lights appeared from thin air and surrounded Apollomon. Dianamon could see Apollomon was confused, not expecting what was to come next as none of them had ever fought their elder brother before. A second later the lights disappeared but Apollomon was visibly damaged, not realizing what had happened, the pain struck moments later and Apollomon flew towards the ground.

"Apollomon!" Helios screamed with concern. Dianamon looked towards her master, Artemis was expressionless as if she had already accepted what was to be. Before she could blink, Jupitermon was before her and with one swing of his arm, Dianamon found herself yards away from where she had stood and her head throbbing with pain. Dianamon found that she was in too much pain to move but was able to see what was happening. Jupitermon was upon her master and her lover.

"Bring justice upon them Jupitermon." The old man stated. Lights began to surround the couple, Artemis had now buried herself in the arms of her lover. With all her might Dianamon tried to stretch her arm towards her master but found it was useless. She knew what was to happen next but she still did not want to believe it.

"MASTER!"

The next thing she knew, she was sitting upon a soft bed, a large one that even fit her size. She felt refreshed, as if the pain from carrying her master's memories had now gone. Then she remembered what had happened, the mission Yggdrasil had sent her on, how Dynasmon, Yggdrasil's right hand man had betrayed her, and with her iris' going wide, how she had though she found her long dead master. It was then Dianamon noticed the figure that was fast asleep, sitting in a chair pulled close towards her bed. There was not mistaking it, the sleeping figure before her was her long dead master but once again, this girl did not have the silkily silver hair her master had, but a light chestnut colour. Dianamon did not know how long it was that she was starring at the girl but she soon found her awake and rubbing her eyes.

"You're awake finally." The girl announced happily.

"Where am I?" Dianamon managed to ask through the awe of seeing someone so much like her master.

"In York. You had been badly hurt and we needed to heal you as soon as possible. We couldn't risk transporting you and I did not feel right if they were to lock you up." The girl replied.

Dianamon took a moment to gather her thoughts. Was it a coincidence that a girl who looked just like her master had healed her? Was this Yggdrasil's plan? Did Yggdrasil know of her thoughts of betrayal and had ordered Dynasmon to get rid of her and a girl looking like her master? So many questions entered her mind.

"What is your name young one?" She had finally managed to ask.

The girl gave Dianamon her outstretched hand, "Lily, of house Crowle." This had convinced Dianamon; _She is not my master_. Yet Dianamon was still not sure of herself, this girl, something felt odd about her. Something about Lily reminded Dianamon about her master, a feeling she was not able to shake off. It felt as though she was forgetting something and this girl was suppose to be the key, yet she searched her mind and came up with nothing.

Dianamon had so many questions to ask but their moment together was interrupted as the door to their large room opened and in emerged a girl who looked similar to the girl before her, older yet very much the same.

"Beatrix!" The girl exclaimed.

Again Dianamon was confused, before her was not only one girl who looked like her master but two. She opened her mouth of question who they really were but was interrupted by the elder of the two girls. "We must leave, now!"

"Sister, what's going on?" Lily asked with confusion.

"It's those damn Roma dogs again. Another Digimon has appeared above the city, with Mangamon and Gallantmon sick, we have no one too defend the city. We have to escape while we still can!" The elder girl hurried stated. Both Dianamon and Lily too a peek outside through the single window of the room. They could both see it, high above them, a large red Digimon stood, ready to bring chaos on to the streets of York.

"Marsmon!" Dianamon exclaimed. Dianamon then hurriedly stood from her bed, while she still felt some pain, it wasn't enough to stop her.

"What are you doing!" The elder girl called from her spot. "Are you planning on attacking us too?" The girl asked, she was in a defensive stance, a muscle reflex when humans thought they were in danger.

"No. Marsmon has been brainwashed by the one you call Yggdrasil. I will talk to my brother, I shall not let harm come to you. It is all I can do for your kindness." With that, Dianamon shattered the window's glass and flew out towards her enraged brother. By the time she got there, Marsmon was already mindlessly attacking the city as he through fireballs upon fireballs down onto the city and it's people.

"Brother you must stop!" Dianamon exclaimed once she arrived.

"By the gods, you are alive sister." Marsmon hulled his attack out of sheer surprise upon seeing Dianamon. "Come sister, once we raise this city to the ground, we shall return to Olympus and celebrate your return!"

"No brother, you must stop this senseless attack. They do not have anyone to defend them, what you are doing is not honourable."

"Not honourable? Have you forgotten what these humans have done to us sister?" Marsmon replied back.

"I have not but they are not the same humans that betrayed us, these are innocent people." Dianamon explained.

"And we were innocent Digimon yet they still did not show us any mercy, so why should I do the same?" Marsmon asked, ready to continue his attack.

"Have you forgotten our true duty? Have you forgotten our masters' duty?"

"I do not know what has gotten into you sister…" Before Marsmon could finish, a shout came through, even at their height.

"Dianamon!" Marsmon narrowed his eyes while Dianamon followed his. They both landed on a girl running towards them, the same girl that had healed her and the same girl that looked so much like her master.

"I see. You have been fooled by an illusion sister." Marsmon stated, "No worries, I shall free you from this spell soon enough." And he charged - charged straight for the girl. Lily was too scared to move, too scared to scream, and before she could gather her self, the fire Digimon was upon her. "Infinite Surge!" Lily had closed her eyes, Dianamon was still rushing towards her brother, hoping with all her might that she could stop her brother before the girl could be harmed.

"What is the meaning of this!" Marsmon screamed, allowing both Dianamon and Lily to gather what was going on. A large circle of bright light stood before Lily, it's light connecting with Marsmon's flaming fist, stopping him from bringing any harm to the young girl. Dianamon recognized it, she knew Marsmon too - there was no mistake about it; _a summoning circle_!

Marsmon was taken back by the appearance of the summoning circle and jumped backwards to allow himself space. Dianamon just looked with wonderment. However something felt different about this circle, as she was the guardian of a high priestess, she had witness many summonings by Roman nobles when her master was in charge of the temple. Yet this was different. The circle soon produced an outline of a figure, a large figure that Dianamon and Marsmon both became speechless.

The outline became a firely projection of their dead brother, Apollomon. But he was not whole, only a light. Dianamon was overly confused, wasn't a summoning suppose to produce a Digimon, not a ghost.

The ghost opened it's mouth, Dianamon could see Marsmon too was confused and bewitched by the ghost. "Sister, brother, stop this at once. We have forgotten our true duty and thus have been lied to by Yggdrasil. We were once the guardians of mankind, yet our emotions have lead us on a dark path. It was too late for me and I paid for that but not too late for the rest of you." Apollomon stated. "With the last of my power, I entrust you Dianamon to protect our master. Yes, our master, the daughters of Helios and Artemis, for all of time." With that, the ghost of Apollomon disappeared and became a blinding light, a small orb remained and floated towards Lily.

Lily reached for it and the light dimmed. In that moment, within Lily's hand was a small box, orange in colour and silver trim surrounded it. _The same box as that human Yggdrasil entrusts_. And in that moment, Dianamon did not feel anymore pain from her past injuries, she felt anew and reawakened. _What is the meaning of this_.

"Another parlour trick." Marsmon stated. "I will not be fooled twice. Corona Sanctions!" His entire body was engulfed in flames as he once again rushed towards the girl. This time however, Dianamon with renewed strength and power, easily outflew her brother and without much effort blocked Marsmon's attack with her blade.

"Did you not hear brother Apollomon? We have been tricked by Yggdrasil, leave the humans be!"

"No." Marsmon simply replied, "It is you who have been tricked sister. I see now that you can not be turned. I shall do what I must for Lord Yggdrasil, even if it means eliminating my own siblings." Marsmon began another attack, his fist again in hot flames.

"I see brother, then it is a shame." Dianamon replied in a soft voice, enough for those around her to hear. She brought her blade in front of her and held it like a bow. she reached backwards in the motion of tensing an imaginary how string. "Arrow of Artemis!" Dianamon called as she released the imaginary string and out flew hundreds of ice shaped as arrows. They all hit Marsmon before he knew it, some arrows melted, other protrude from his body. Marsmon fell and shattered into a million particles of light. Dianamon could only prey that her brother was at a better place now.

She turned to Lily, she was still holding her new device high into the sky. Apollomon had called her a daughter of her former master and her lover. Was it possible the girl before her was a decedent of her lost master?

"Just like Masaru's." A voice stated. Dianamon turned to see a red headed boy approach, he was riding on a large purple beetle Digimon. Yet before Dianamon could do anything else, she found herself without her usual body, she had became small and had lost her powers.

"What is the meaning of this!" She found herself ask, instead of her normal voice, it came as a squeak to better fit her new body.

"A Lunamon?" The red headed boy asked again.

* * *

Notes: Since Jupitermon has yet to make any appearance, even in card form, I avoided trying to have any physical description of him. His attacks are based on the four largest moon that surrounds Jupiter and the dominant characteristics of each moon.


	52. Book 5 Chapter 8

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 8: Yagami Taichi**

"Hmmm…" It was an unusual sight to see Masaru in such deep thought, especially when his face was sandwiched between two curious Agumons trying to get a better look at the item that was displayed on the kitchen table. "There's no doubt about it, it's a Digivice iC."

"The question is, why would a Digivice appear in this world? There doesn't seem to be a reason for anyone in this world to have a Digivice." Taichi replied as he stood at the opposite end of the table.

"Well, this is the first instance that I can think of where a Digimon has been pass down from one human to another. Maybe this 'Digivice iC' as you call it, is a heirloom device that appears anytime a Digimon is passed down within a family or even from stranger to stranger?" Koushiro piped in, he too was taking a closer at the red and light blue box sitting on top of the table.

"But Lily said there was a summoning circle and instead of her Digimon appearing, this," Taichi pointed to the Digivice as he faced the others, "appeared and it's somehow related to a Mega Digimon de-evolving to her." Taichi shifted his index finger, now pointing at the rabbit like rookie Digimon who was hiding behind the legs of her new master.

"Digimon science is still not an established field of study, scholars are known to waste their entire life trying to find the secretes behind these creatures, only to die without finding much evidence." Koushiro replied. "So far we've only been able to establish that Lily is indeed the new master of Lunamon but as for why she has reverted to a lower rank, that is still a mystery."

"That's a simple one. A Digivice acts as link between the Digimon and it's human partner, Lunamon becoming her rookie form means that her latent power to become her Mega form is stored within Lily now. It should act as a wire for Lily to input that power to her Digimon when the need comes forth. The bigger question is, does Lily even have the ability to Digivolve her Digimon or not." Taichi pulled out his Digivice to compare with Lily's. "Her Digivice more closely resembles Masaru's, I'm not an expert when it comes to the different evolution methods but I know Masaru's form of evolving his Digimon is entirely different from mine."

Masaru finally stood up after bending down to table level to get a closer look, he flexed his fingers and summoned a bright orange flame which enveloped his hand. "Digisoul." He plainly stated.

"Digisoul?" Every one of them in the room asked.

"Digisoul. As far as we've figured, it's a medium that's based on emotions." Masaru stated before he swished his hand in the air releasing himself from his orange flame. Now it was Lily's turn to have every eye in the room turn on her. She starred blankly not knowing what to do. She brought up one hand as everyone looked on with awe expecting a flame similar to Masaru's to appear. She starred intensely at her hand for a few seconds, to everyone looking on it seemed like an eternity had gone by. After a few minutes of nothing happening, she sighed.

"I guess it doesn't come naturally for everyone. The first time I was able to digivolve Agumon was when I thought Agumon was dead. Like I said, it's based on emotion." Masaru explained.

Taichi then became deep in thought as it was certainly a big help if they were to get Lily and Lunamon to become part of their team for when they needed to take on Yggdrasil. After his short trip to Mount Royale to initiate Ken as the new King of Royal after the death of his brother, he was given an update by Koushiro of what had happened when the city was again attacked. Not that he did not care about what had happened to King Osamu, but they were short on time which caused him to be indifferent about the King he barely knew. Sure Mount Royale was in chaos but he trusted those who were left to make the correct decisions.

Although it was nice for him to see those he had left back at the academy and his sister once again. His sister was still very much angry with him, the entire time she had avoided talking to him and spent much of her time by the side of her fiancé. He had gotten word that his doppleganger parents had died during the capture of Central, part of him was sad but another part of him knew that there wasn't much time for him to morn - he wished that he would had been able to talk to Hikari about it but it seemed that they continued to grow apart.

The ceremony to crown Ken was a short one, as only families that had escaped Royal before the Romans seized it were there to witness the crowning ceremony. Of course the new King's friends, much of those were people Taichi knew from Saint Germain Academy were there also. Miyako was there by Ken's side, no doubt she was to become the next queen once Ken decided he was ready to marry. Yamato, being the King's cousin was also there; he had not changed from when they were still at Saint Germain and seeing as they never really had a conversation with one another before, the young Lords did not see any need to start then, only a crude nod to acknowledge each other. Yamato's brother of course was also there, again he spent most of his time with Hikari, leaving little time for Taichi. All in all, Taichi wished he would be able to leave the city the moment he arrived and he was mentally jumping for joy when the day after the crowning he was summoned by the King and briefed on his next mission.

"We do have some time before the start of our next mission. Masaru-san would it be possible for you to train Lily here before we are to set sail?" Taichi asked. Masaru nodded in agreement and proceeded to usher Lily and Lunamon outside of her kitchen and into her backyard. Taichi turned to Koushiro as they were the only remaining occupants of the room. "We need to discuss our next course of action Lord Admiral."

"Yes of course…wait what?" Koushiro became wide eyed as Taichi began to laugh.

"Yup, just got word in the morning. The alliance decided you would be most fit and named you Lord Admiral this morning; told me I'm directly under your orders. Also, you're getting your own ship, the eighty gunner HIMAS Tristan." Taichi announced to a shocked Koushiro who was visibly speechless and gulping like a fish on land. Taichi inwardly laughed at his friend, he reached for the documents and maps he had set aside on the table before their little inspection of Lily's new Digivice. Taichi spread out the large map allowing Koushiro and himself to have closer look at their current situation. Both of them took a moment to look over the map, Taichi being relatively new to strategic war planning - seeing as back during his Digidestined days he would often just rush in without thinking. The map was a large one, it's contents covering the entire world, of course some of the newly discovered lands and those still unexplored were not located on the map and merely covered in ocean; Taichi noted that much of Australia was missing and nothing had shown below what he knew to be Texas.

The map had shown the current territory each country occupied, both the Empire and Royal had been reduced to only their colonies and even after that Royal only occupied the known northeast of the New World. What both boys did fear was the huge territory the Romans had amassed throughout their conquest. Even though each of them were standing at opposite ends of the large kitchen table, the map did not hide the fact the Romans now held both the Empire and Royal homelands, along with most of Europe and slowly advancing what use to be Ming territory.

"Ming will fall within half a month." Koushiro pointed out.

Taichi nodded in agreement, there was no denying the prowess of the Roman war machine. "That's why we should attack them head on while the majority of their forces are occupied on the eastern front." Taichi pointed to the woodcarving they were using as stand-ins for armies.

"I agree Lord Captain but the only fear I would have it that once Ming falls, we would also be attacked on both fronts." Koushiro pointed to the Atlantic Ocean showing the openness the New World had on their western boarders. "There's also the fact the enemy has found ways to send their new Mega Digimon to our cities without the need to cross oceans from what we have seen so far and if what Lunamon tells us is believable."

"According to Lunamon there's only three of them remaining. If we can get Lily and Lunamon to join us, I'm sure we can get them to turn their minds to our side. Plus, we have Davis and Takato to defend the colonies." Taichi pointed out.

"You forget Taichi, both Magnamon and Gallantmon are currently suffering the same illness Agumon had. We still don't know the effects of the illness or why Agumon was cure of it." Koushiro rebuttaled. It was true, Taichi had heard nothing new about the illness nor did he know why Agumon had a new Mega form. He was sure it had something to do with Yggdrasil but he did not have time to ask the supercomputer last time when it was in possession of Mimi's body. Taichi had wished he had Koushiro from his world right now, surely he would have found the answers by now.

"Well we can't just spend all day in here arguing about what we should do. Sooner or later the majority of the Roman army will begin their attack on us. We have to bring the fight to them before that happens." Taichi replied hotly, it was an impulse reaction after years of being the leader.

"Hmm…" Koushiro put his hand to his chin and began to examine the map once again. Taichi could see Koushiro's eyes open wide when he knew his old friend's doppleganger had come up with a plan. "If we can capture back the Empire's homeland, we'll have a foothold to Europe. We can then launch attacks on the Romans if 'Britannia' becomes our gateway." Koushiro started, Taichi only replied with a giant grin on his face.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get ships ready!" Taichi was eager to begin their new adventure and had not thought about the logistics of such an operation.

"Wait Taichi!" Koushiro ran after his friend. "We'll need plan out how many ships we'll need."

Thus the two began their planning, the number of ships, the number of soldier and sailors, amongst other things were thought upon. When the two began to lose track of time during this planning stage, they were interrupted with a large explosion coming from the yard of the Crowle's manor house. The two rushed out to where the noise was coming from and was shocked to find an exhausted ShineGreymon laying flat on his bottom. Taichi turned his head to the other direction and became worried when he spotted the Lord Crowle's second daughter on all fours panting with heavy breaths. Above them stood Dianamon, who once again gained her Mega form after what Taichi could only guess to be hours of hard training from Masaru.

"Amazing, Lily you've done it!" Taichi shouted a congratulation out of impulse.

"Of course, with Daimon Masaru-sama, nothing is impossible!" Masaru appeared behind his Mega level Digimon, patting himself on the back for a job well done. Lily on the other hand had returned to her feet with without help and was blushing at her results and from the praise Taichi had given her.

It was then Taichi who walked up to her and gave her his hand with a wide grin on his face, "Lady Lily Crowle, it would be an honour if you were to join His Majesties' Joint Aerial Force."

* * *

Note: Royal's ship moniker is HMAS (His Majesty's Air Ship) and the Empire's are HIMAS (His Imperial Majesty's Air Ship).


	53. Book 5 Interlude 1

**Book 5 The Unison War, Interlude: The Assassin**

"No I beg of you!" The large cardinal scream out in fear. He held the cardinal by his iconic red robe, lifting him high into the air with one arm and his other ready to strike.

"You should have thought of the consequences when you decided to deflower that farmer girl." He replied in disgust.

"She was a temptress! She wove me into her spell. She should be the one who is punished; she has broken my scared outh!" The cardinal hurriedly plead.

"With power comes responsibility. Power has corrupted your heart and I shall see that you pay for your deeds." He replied without showing any emotion.

"No!" The cardinal continue to shout unaware those who's attention he was trying to grab were already dead, killed by this intruder.

"Requiescat in pace." The moment those words were heard, the cardinal fell dead to the ground, killed by the man's hidden blade. He was sure the body would soon be found but not before he was a well away from the scene of the murder.

He made his way to the roof of the cardinal's large manor_. Quite large for someone who has given up worldly possessions._ The sun was on it's way down, half of it already lower than the horizon, perfect to mask his body. Unlike others who were in his order, he had preferred to be dressed in a matted red robe instead of the traditional white. He was known to strike at sundown, which made the red a perfect way for him to blend into the setting sun as he ran above the city's roofline.

The city was not as he once knew it, gone were the happy days when everyone was a peace, now the rich became richer and the poor became poorer, the hungerless became fat and the hungry became dead. After a long period of zigzagging the roofline, making sure he was not followed, he stopped as he became stuck on the last house before the city ended with the large lake. There was a dozen or so small island that doted the lake and one of them happened to be his order's hideout. He sucked air, enough from his training that allowed him to swim underwater for a minute or so until he reach the entrance to the underground hideout. Making sure there was no one near by to witness his jump, he lept into the water without making a single splash and swiftly swam home.

He was met with a large metal grate that acted as a valve, using his leg he kicked it inwards and swam inside to the protection of air. As he was used to this, he did not need to make a bid for fresh air and continued his otherwise normal breathing pattern. His red robes and it's armour padding were weigh down by the water but he knew it would only last a few moments as they were designed so that they were water resistant.

"Welcome back young Capulet." An old man in white robes replied.

"Please do not call me that Grand Master. Takuya da Capulet di Venezia died on the day old Venice ceased to exist. I am little more than a humble servant to the creed now." Takuya replied.

"I would take it you have completed your mission without concern?" The old man asked. Even though the man was quite old, he was still the Grand Master of their little order and as Takuya had found out, was still very much a natural at the art of killing.

"The cardinal has paid for his crimes." Takuya replied indifferently.

"Good, good." The Grand Master replied as he led Takuya through the hall, "Then we can start planning your next mission my son."

"Next mission Grand Master?" Takuya asked in confusion. Missions were rare and to have two on the same day was virtually unheard of.

"Yes, it seems the new Prime Minister of Britannia has taken a visit to our humble city. You must find out why he is here and what Yggdrasil is after." The old man stated as they continued into their war room. "We do not know what Yggdrasil is, but he is not a god. An immortal maybe but not a god." Replied the Grand Master. "That is why it is vital for you to find us the answers we need."

"As you command Grand Master. Is there anything else?" He asked.

"Yes, it seems the Alberoni are hosting this meeting, no doubt trying to have their daughter Felisa capture the heart of our guest. Make sure you are not recognized." The Grand Master warned. The Alberoni were once a small noble house within the city and they were the first to turn sides when the city was finally captured by the Romans. Their daughter was a year younger than himself and she was a viable marriage candidate according to his father. Of course, that was before he fell in love with Izumi and the outcome of the war.

He still did not fully understand what had happened to his beloved Izumi. When he awoke after weeks in a coma trying to heal from his injuries by the order, he was told by the Grand Master that the Montagues had fled after the city had fallen but word had it their daughter had died in her marriage bed. It was not something Takuya wanted to dwelt on, his own family had too perished during the siege and when he joined the order, he was told to forget his past identity as his only family now were the members of the order.

Takuya left then for the armoury to prepare himself. He looked at his mirror reflection in the armoury room, so much had changed since his defeat by the Roman leader the Golden Lion. _The Rebirth_, he reminded himself. His reflection was a constant reminder of that day, his left shoulder pad was forged from the armour remains of his former Digimon; shaped like dragons, the exact same as his Digimon. His two bracers were the same, forged from what was left of his Digimon's armour to look just as his Digimon once did and each bracer held a hidden blade, it too made from what had remained of his Digimon's great sword. He then touch the soft spot on his chest which still pained him to this day, the large scar that was visible under his cloak - its pain and its presence was a constant reminder of his failure and his death. Takuya da Capulet did indeed die that day when the Roman leader finished him with his sword, instead he was reborn as an brother of Assassin's brotherhood. He checked himself over once more before heading towards one of the many stands that held a great number of weapons. He found himself pulling one the crossbows from it's case and equipping it on his body as an extra tool for his job. As the meeting was going to held at night time, the crossbow was ideal weapon for himself to taking out guards if they spotted him, his usually method of using the setting sun as camouflage would not work if there was no sun.

He soon found himself emerging from the water onto the banks of the large island which the Alberoni family had made their home after they came to power after the war. The island was a large stretch of land on the east side of the main city island. His own family, along with Izumi's family had built their homes on the former Republic's mainland, on the west of Venice's main island with a single bridge to and from it. The Alberoni were located on the north side of the east island, which meant he had to travel through the rooftops of the suburb. The east island was less dense in terms of houses compared to the main island, it meant Takuya had to make a better effort in hiding himself amongst the shadows. Soon he found himself on the outer walls of the Alberoni manor. It was much larger than his old home, but he guessed with their betray onto the Roman's side, they were becoming much better paid.

Two guards were standing on each side of the main gate, Takuya perched on one of the houses which circled the Alberoni's. Soon he recognized the sound of click-clacking of horses and the squeak of a carriage wheel approaching his direction. The party stopped in front of the gate and Takuya with his well trained ear heard, "Make way for his honour, Prime Minister Jyou de Lyonais." There two guards quickly allowed them to pass and this signal the start of Takuya's mission. He made his way to the back wall where no guards were located and easily scaled the wall by way of degrading brick work. Once he was at the top, he could see that there was little in ways of guards attending the gardens. Not bothering with them, Takuya quickly free ran along the top of the way until he found an area where he could easily jump from the way to the main house. As this was a brick house, Takuya was glad he did not decided to change his colours before setting out as he was perfectly matched to the colour of the wall and without much moon light it made it even harder for a untrained eye to spot him. He slowly made his way up and down, side to side until he reached a window which he was sure lead to an empty room.

He crept within the house, making his way down to where the little party was taking place; when the occasional maid did manage to see him, he was quick to his feet and simply knocked them out or drugged them into a deep sleep. The ballroom was a large room, two floors with an upper balcony to oversee the room. This made the perfect spot of Takuya to spy on the group.

"Come, come my Lord, have you met my beautiful daughter yet?" It was the voice Lord Alberoni as he lead a dark haired man in glasses to his daughter. It was true, Lisa Alberoni had grown into a beautiful women since Takuya had last seen her, although her beauty was no match for his dear Izumi. The Prime Minister bowed and kiss the hand of the girl, she blushed as she became captivated by the young Frenchman. However, Takuya could see that the man did not hold the same regard for the girl who he was greeting, his eyes seemed dull and lifeless but he smiled out of politeness.

"I must say Lord Alberoni, you certainly do have a beauty for a daughter. I do hope she would find a good husband soon; these are dark times and it would be good for her to find a husband that could protect her." The frenchman replied. "My Lord, is there a more, secure place for us to discuss our war efforts?"

"Yes of course but what is the hurry? Would you not like to dance with Lisa first before we have our discussion?" Alberoni asked in confusion.

"Thank you for your kind efforts but I must hurry back to Britannia province after our meeting. My spies have confirmed the Alliance have been gathering their forces for a major attack." the frenchmen replied. Alberoni nodded his head in understanding and ushered the Prime Minister away from the party and signalling his daughter to follow. Takuya pursed but stayed in the shadows, ducking in and out of rooms and corners. The ended up in what Takuya guessed to be the Lord's study. Takuya quickly ducked into the room beside it and made his way to the window, allowing him to make his way to a secondary window leading into the study. The room was large, two stories both wall lined with selves of books, all leading to a large oak desk which Takuya spotted Alberoni and Lyonais. There were two windows in the room, the large main window and a second one on top, too high for anyone from the inside to reach and perfect for Takuya to use for his spying.

"Lisa, please bring us some Port." Alberoni ordered his daughter, she hurried off to bring her father what he had requested. "So milord, what is it that you wish to discuss in such urgency?" Alberoni asked.

"I want what remains of the former Republic's army as reinforcements to the eastern front. Ming is too large and now that the Alliance plans to attack, we need more men." The Frenchman simply asked.

"Milord! The Republic's moral is still low after our defeat, the soldiers surely will not agree to this." Alberoni explained, the Frenchman starred at him with cold eyes.

"Your job is to make the soldiers to agree. I'm sure you do not need reminding what will happen if you do not comply to what the Golden Lion has asked of you." Jyou threatened.

"Milord, surely you can be more understanding. It will take time."

"You have a week Alberoni and I'm sure we can make it more enticing for you if I were to tell you your beautiful daughter will be used as an extra investment. I'm sure you will not like it when I give your daughter to our tired soldiers." Jyou smirked as Alberoni became speechless.

"How dare you threaten me Lord Lyonais! You do not realize who you are talking to; I will too be made the Prime Minister of the Italia province, a greater position than yourself. I'm sure the Golden Lion would not like it when he finds he useless dog from a bastard land's dead." Alberoni screamed in fury.

"I am sorry that we could not come to an agreement. I bid you adieu." The room light up with the sound of thunder and a second later found Lord Alberoni dead on the floor, a musket sized bullet hole in his temple. "You can come out now Monsieur l'Assassin."

Takuya dropped from the open window and land near the Frenchman, the dead body of Alberoni between them. "Has Yggdrasil lost interest in Lord Alberoni?"

"Yggdrasil can not be bothered with such trivial things. I presume you are here for myself?" Takuya did not nod, merely continued to stare at the Frenchman. "It seems as though Yggdrasil is also finished with myself. You are already too late Monsieur l'Assassin, the plan is already in motion, Yggdrasil can not be defeated."

Takuya grabbed the man by the neck and held him up. "Tell me you French dog, what is Yggdrasil!"

Jyou gulped for air but still managed to smirk a dark smile, "Some call him a god, others call him the devil, all that matters is that we see him as the unavoidable. Come Monsieur l'Assassin, my time is up but heed my warning; Yggdrasil cannot be defeated." Jyou laughed. Takuya released his hidden blade from his bracer, in an instant the Frenchman fell to the floor. "I only wanted to free the people that were suffering in our land but I sought out the devil and my soul will pay for my mistakes. In the end, society will always be ruled by the powerful." Jyou stated as his dying words.

"You sought freedom but you were impatient. You sow the seeds but you did not water them, instead you burnt them. I prey for your soul to be at peace in the next world. Requiescat in pace." Takuya stated as he preyed for Jyou's final rites, closing his unmoving eyes forever with a wave of his hand. A loud bang was heard coming from the entrance of the study, Takuya spotted Lisa in shock, the bottle of Port smashed on the floor.

"Father, what have you done to father!" She screamed in fright.

"It was not I who was responsible for your fathers death but I have avenged him by killing his killer." Takuya prepared himself to leave.

Takuya tried to approach the girl so that he could calm her down, a frantic girl would only alert everyone to his presence. "No! Stay away from me Demonio!" The girl scream in fright. Takuya could hear voices coming near, those who were carious as to why a girl was screaming at demons. Lisa at turned around, trying to hurry those who were approaching to help. "Come, come, save me from this Demonio!" She turned around only to find the Assassin no longer there, only bodies of two dead men.


	54. Book 5 Chapter 9

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 9: Lunamon**

Her ear was flopping against the wind, this was a new sensation, something that she would not have believed possible if it had not actually happened to her. She was in awe, the clouds passing by her at an incredible pace, soldiers all around her running in chaos and shouting orders to one another. This was the first time she had been on an airship - in her mega form she would otherwise been able to fly. She tried to run towards one of the ship's side but she was still unaccustomed to her new body, she would trip every minute now that her once long legs had become small stubs, along with her new dress like body, it was easy for her to step on herself and fall flat on her face.

"Lunamon!" Her master had come onto the top deck trying to find her. It was weird for her to have a master once again, it was even weirder for her to have a master who looked exactly like her original master. Yet, if it were not for the identical looks, the two could not be any different. Her original master had always been so calm, always in control even when it came to the master of giving away her own daughter. The girl who became her new master was the complete opposite, shy and always unsure of herself. The girl had spotted her and was coming towards her, her master had a bright smile on her face.

Lunamon did not know why her new master had agreed to join the air force, maybe it was because the boy in charge had nearly begged her to. It reminded her of Artemis, both girls were weak against a good looking boy. However, Lunamon had promised herself that she would not make the same mistake she had allowed with Artemis, she would protect her new master no matter what the circumstance; and at the moment that required her to go against her brothers and sisters.

"There you are Lunamon." Her master had said sweetly. Her master, more commonly known as Lady Lily Crowle, second daughter of Lord Crowle, was dressed in the iconic green coat which signified her as both a noble and someone who had a Digimon. The coat fit her figure perfectly, along with her new red plaided short skirt which Lunamon was told to be based after something called a kilt - her master was actually the first female to have joined His Majesties' Allied Forces and the regular uniform just did not allow her the same mobility a skirt would and the only thing that came close to a skirt was what the northern men from the Empire wore.

Her master appeared behind her and picked her up, a satisfied simile on her face. Although her master was shy by nature, the last few days on the this ship had changed her, still shy but always smiling; again Lunamon knew it was due to the closeness her master had with the Lord Captain of the ship. Yggdrasil had told her about the Lord Captain, the most dangerous of Yggdrasil's enemy. Lunamon did not know why that was the case, from what she had seen of him, he was just another average human with a Digimon. Sure the Lord Captain had quite the hero complex and was a natural born leader but he would rush into danger without thinking and usually didn't think of a back up plan when the entire "overpower" your enemies plan went wrong. Yggdrasil had told her the Captain was part of her Twilight plan, it allowed her to study human emotions and thus allowed her to judge humanity. Once Yggdrasil had decided upon what human fate was to be, he then employed herself and her siblings to rid him of those that threatened his plan, the Captain was the most dangerous.

Lunamon did not know the details to Yggdrasil's plan, only that he had planned to subjugate humans. She did not know how to feel about what Yggdrasil had planned; when Yggdrasil came to her, Lunamon had been angry. Angry after all those years of betrayal, angry at the humans who killed her master, but now that she looked back on it, she was mostly angry with herself, unable to protect her master. Now she had a new master and she promised herself she would not fail twice, she learned to once again love humans, to trust them and she was sure now then ever, Yggdrasil was wrong about them.

She and Lily both stood there for what seemed like hours, just staring at the passing clouds above and waves below. Unknown to the two, another female appeared from the deck below. She too was dressed in the customary green coat and the same skirt Lily wore, but this girl was older, her hair shorter and a fair bit more copper. Behind her appeared her Digimon, a large human sized dragon digimon, blue in colour with a white belly and a large blue "V" to confirm he was part of the Veemon family. The girl and her Digimon stepped beside her master and took in the sight with them.

Lunamon found the pair to be odd, not only was this girl the only one she knew to have given a name to her Digimon but she was one of the few who had the ability to level up her Digimon along with the Captain and the one who trained her master, Daimon Masaru. Masaru had told Lily and herself the key to regaining her previous form lay solely with the device Apollomon's ghost had given her master, the Digivice iC. Masaru had said her master's Digivice was an older model compared to his but it would still allow Lunamon to regain her mega form.

Their silence was finally broken when her master's Digivice began to beep and a voice came though. "Lily, can you hear me?" The voice called. Her master quickly picked up her Digivice she had decided to wear as a necklace and answered to the voice coming from inside.

"Yes , we can hear you." Lily managed to stumble on her words, her old nervous self coming through. Daimon Masaru had decided to catch a ride on board the Tristan, as the Digivice which Masaru and her own master held were the only ones that were able to communicate with each other; according to Taichi and Rei, their Digivices were of an older model and did not allow for communication between the two. Therefore, it was up to both her master and Masaru to rely information between Taichi and Koushiro.

"Roger that. Koushiro-san has said we would arrive at the north coast of the Empire homeland by tomorrow morning. He wants Taichi-san to prepare his guns tonight for when we do arrive at the Empire. He says it'll be tough going through the defences of the Roman's stationed near the coast but it should be no problem with our airships." Masaru's voice came through from the box. Their group of ships was a large one, the largest Lunamon had seen firsthand. When she ran missions of Yggdrasil, she would come across squads of ships trying to defend against her, the usual of only about twenty or so ships, nothing she couldn't take care of. However, this fleet the kings had sent were massive, she could at least count thirty or so ships in front of the Reliant and at least fifty more behind. Ships of all sizes, from the heavyweights like the Reliant and Tristan, to lightweight scouting ahead and the mid weights that flanked all four sides of the heavyweights as shields.

"Tell Koushiro that everything has already been prepared." A voice called from behind them. It was the captain and his Agumon, both had silently creeped up on them as they were too focused on Lily's Digivice.

"Taichi-san, we should have Wargr…." Masaru's voice was interrupted by a large scream as jets of water came flying towards them from below.

"Vortex Penetrate!" A loud deep voice called out from the sea below and the next thing anyone knew, the Ship sailing directly a head of the Reliant had been hit with a large energy projectile. The wooden haul of the ship caught fire, causing it to fall quickly to the sea below. The Lord Captain quickly rushed to the side as the rest of them followed. They could see a blue Digimon half submerged in the ocean tides looking straight back at them, but Lunamon knew she was the only one who knew who it was. Her brother, Neptunmon.

"Taichi-san, Agumon and I are on this!" The voice from Lily's Digivice stated.

"No, let WarGreymon take care of this. We have more experience dealing with water battles and I don't think your Burst Mode would work so well underwater." Taichi called back.

"He's right aniki, WarGreymon is much better when it comes to water battles." A second voice, who Lunamon assumed was Daimon's Digimon, replied through the Digivice.

"Agumon you ready?" Taichi asked pulling out his Digivice. Agumon nodded as Taichi's Digivice began to glow a violent orange.

"Agumon shinka….." A bright light surrounded Agumon and when it disbursed, his mega form stood in it's place, "WarGreymon X!"

Without a moment's habitation, WarGreymon ran until there was no more deck for his feet to run on and dived straight down to where Neptunmon was.

"Poseidon Force!" "Gate of Atlantis" Both Digimon called as they started their engagement. They could only watch on as they were hopeless against Neptunmon when he had a viable water source near him. Lunamon could only prey that WarGreymon would not hurt her brother too bad; she had experience fighting against her current allies and knew Neptunmon stood a slime chance of winning.

"Lily, get Lunamon ready. We'll need her to calm Neptunmon once WarGreymon gets him warn down." The captain called out to her master. Her master looked flustered, not because the Captain was talking to her but Lunamon knew it be her master's first experience in battle. Lily held out her Digivice, holding it firmly with both hands as if she was praying to it. She closed her eyes and concentrated, after hours of training with Masaru, her master Lily had finally become accustomed to the process summoning her Digisoul as Masaru called it. A small blue flame appeared over her hands and then soon engulfed both her master's hands and her Digivice. Lunamon herself began to feel the air around her becoming stale and cold. As she had an affinity to the moon, this rush of cold air did not feel threatening rather it was comforting to Lunamon.

A summoning circle appeared at the feet of her master, just like the countless other times they had when practicing. At the same time another circle appeared at Lunamon's feet, soon a serge of power was felt and a white light enveloped her.

"Lunamon shinka!" She felt her old powers returning but she felt even more power. This power felt familiar, it felt of her old master Artemis but it also felt of her new master Lily. She concentrated on the power and when her small rookie body could not hold it any longer, her mega form burst through. "Dianamon!" she called.

She too jumped from the side of the Reliant and dived towards the two fighting Digimon. Her armour allowed her to fly, unlike her brother's which only allowed for his manipulation of water. As she came close to the two Digimon, she could see that they were parrying with their weapons, her brother Neptunmon with his spear the 'King's Bite' and WarGreymon X with his 'Dramon Killer' katara claws. When one tried to hit the other, the other would simply block and when the other tried to hit him, the same was true. Dianamon could see both were close to their limits, both were breathing heavily and she knew her brother could no longer continue. It was now, the perfect time for her to plea to her brother to stop.

"Brother!" She called towards Neptunmon. "Please stop this madness. We do not want to hurt you!"

"Sister?" Neptunmon replied in shock as he turned to face her. WarGreymon X sensing what was going on, stopped from continuing any more attacks and stood close by the two should Dianamon need any assistance. "What is the meaning of this sister! Dynasmon returned by saying you were dead, killed by those humans." Neptunmon asked, pointing his King's Bite at her.

"Dynasmon has lied to you brother, just as Yggdrasil has lied to us all." She pleaded. "Did you not once yourself trust the humans? Did you not stay to protect Poseidon's kingdom even after his death?"

"Until those ungrateful humans ran me out. I have only myself to blame for trusting them." Neptunmon replied in spit.

"No brother. Those humans you protected came to fear you. You, a Digimon who controlled the oceans, who control the waves, the same water that claimed many of their lives. Did you not swear on your master's deathbed that you would protect his people?" She continued to plea with her brother but Neptunmon's face became dark and she could not read his emotions.

"Poseidon was no master of mine!" Neptunmon screamed in denial and launched his King's Bite at her. Dianamon was too shock to move and with the speed and power in which Neptunmon threw the spear, there was no way Dianamon could block it. She prepared herself for the worst but it never came. A quick red shadow flew past her and saved he from the on coming attack. When she was able to gather herself, she recognized her saviour to be ShineGreymon as he was able to deflect the spear away with his GeoGreySword.

Neptunmon screamed in frustration as he launched attacks after attacks at the three Digimon. Still trying to recover from her brother's outburst, it was WarGreymon and ShineGreymon that were the ones protecting her from her brother's attacks. It was then she knew Yggdrasil had already tainted her brother's mind beyond repair and she knew what had to be done. She prepared her harken and raised it as if it were a bow. She pulled back on the invisible string as an arrow formed.

Neptunmon however caught what she was about to do but he was too preoccupied with defending against the two mega dinosaur Digimon. Yet, before she could fire her arrow, her brother gave her once last cold laugh.

"It is already too late sister. Yggdrasil has already sent sister Minervamon and brother Marukerimon to deal with these human's precious little king."

The three Digimon could only look at him with shock but Dianamon did not hesitate and fired her arrow. "Arrow of Artemis!" It had hit Neptunmon seconds later and he resolved into a million particles of light. _I hope you are at peace now brother. Poseidon awaits in the next world, you will be reunited with your master at long last_.


	55. Book 5 Chapter 10

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 10: Davis**

He was a war hero, he was a commander, and he had travelled the word, yet he found himself jailed in philosophy class of all places. He did not understand why Taichi had left him out of the mission to conquer the Empire's homeland; although his Digimon was in a deathly illness with no cures or improvements in sight. He could somewhat understand but he did not understand why he was forced to attend school like the other kids his age. With the war at full swing he had expected the King to have at least some kind of mission for him, he was after all a lord and he was not solely trained in the art of Digimon taming, he was after all considered one of the better sharpshooters within the Empire; although his first actual mission involving a rifle did cause him to become a prisoner under Taichi. Instead, his mother had enrolled him into one of the best schools in the new world, she had argued with him that "an good education is needed for the future Lord of Liverpool" and should damn well learn some skills so that he could support himself, his fiancé, and her future grandchildren.

Davis sighed, the class had been going for at least two hours by his watch and it was likely to go another two. It wasn't that he had never been to a school, rather it had been so long since he last stepped into a full lesson. By his count, it was at least three years since he had a formal school class, he had been so busy with formal training and then the war with Royal and ultimately his year long journey with Taichi. He was officially put in a second year class, and at least with maths and sciences he felt challenged but philosophy was a different matter.

"It was Lord Nelson who first theorized Digimon world which exists separate from our own. He had come to the conclusion after he classified natural beasts and Digimon, the animal kingdom, which we humans belong to, have natural reproduction cycles where as Digimon are magically summoned. Thus, Lord Nelson sought to find the plain of existence where Digimon had first come from." The professor droned on and on.

The school was not unlike the famous schools of the Empire and Royal, in fact it was scarily similar to Saint Germain Taichi had told him about and Saint George Lady Lily Crowle had attended; the latter he was not allowed to step in as it was a solely all girls school and they feared that if Davis, who was known as a playboy, was to tempt the student body and therefore he was restricted to the ship during that time. This school, famously known as Saint Brebeuf Academy was one of the best schools in the New World, second only to Saint Patrick Institution located in the New England colony. What as different compared to some of the schools in the Old World was that this school was open to almost anyone whereas the old schools only had its doors opened to the Noble class; this was why his class were fuller compared to the odd ten classmates he had in his childhood schools. It was an eye opening experience, although he usually found himself in the company of other noble children who had escaped to the New World, he had learned a lot from talking to lower class children.

"Can anyone tell me what Lord Norwich II preposed as an alternate theory to where Digimon had come from?" The professor asked. Davis could see the professor looking towards him. _Please don't pick me, please don't pick me, please don't pick me_. "Yes Lady Liverpool." The professor pointed to the girl who sat beside him. He could see everyone's eyes turn to the girl, the boys had eyes of lust and the girl with eyes of jealousy, as after all the girl who sat beside him had become overnight, one of the most popular students that attended Saint Brebeuf.

"Lord Norwich II preposed the Digimon were part of a human consciousness and would propagate into a physical being we call Digimon once the human reached a certain age and he had enough magical bloodline to attempt a summoning. He argued that people of lower class lacked what he called the Yggdrasil bloodline, as Yggdrasil was thought to be the first human to have a Digimon companion." The girl answered, Davis sighed with relief when he learned it wasn't him who had to answer. The girl beside him had a huge grin when the professor praised her for the correct answer as she sat down.

She had been promised to him for less than a week, what first started as a prank by Taichi had now become serious, his mother had expected the two to wed within the month. Again Davis sighed, unlike the majority of noble children of his age, he was in no rush to become tied down. He knew those who were no less than half his age already engaged or married and he could not simply understand why they were in such a hurry. Of course, he himself was going through the process of becoming drawn to girls, more than once he had wanted to simply pick a random girl and spend the night with them. Of course, being of noble blood meant he had to marry into someone of pure blood and he could not be seen in bed with just any girl he found; ironic he was now engaged to a former pleasure girl who his mother believed to be a foreign princess. Davis did not know what he felt towards the girl, he did not know if it was love or simply lust. He did however find as he spent more and more time together with the girl, his heart would speed up whenever he was in her presence.

Ami had adapted to life in the New World quite well, more so than himself as he was fidgety to see some action and not be confined to philosophy class. He barely saw the girl outside of having classes together and sharing the same bed. Ami had most of her time taken up by his mother as she continued to train Ami in the art of being a future noblewoman of the Empire. They didn't even spend meals together as Ami would often wake up earlier for her morning lessons before joining him for school and while at school, her schedule was even more packed as she was trying to catch up with the Empire's education system, and even more lessons with his mother after classes were over. The only time he did see her was the little time they shared together at night but both would often come to bed too tired to talk and simply slip into sleep and again he would find her gone in the morning. On weekends where they did have some time to themselves at night, he was often to frighten to even touch her even with her requests to allow her to pleasure him but he was too much of a gentleman thinking that he was forcing her into it. Those nights would only result in the two spending it quietly in company with one another; when he did build up the courage, he would only go as far as having her snuggle up to him.

The singular giant bell located at the top of the school building's sole tower rang out to signal the end of the current lesson block; the bell was large enough for anyone on campus property to hear and small enough to not annoy those who lived in houses outside the school grounds. The school was a large one, being in the New World it required her to have a large space for dorms although the majority of children had lived off grounds with their parents as many families had moved to York because of the war. Davis stood and gathered his notebook with the many sheets of paper scattered around where he sat, as each row of chairs had a single long desk stretching from end to end.

"Lord Davis, would you like to join me for lunch?" Came the voice from the girl who sat beside him.

"Ami, how many times have I told you to drop the Lord, I'm just Davis." Davis replied to her as his eyes dropped on to the girl's form. Again his heart skipped a beat and started to pound on his ribcage. The female uniform required for them to wear was much different from the one he came to knew when he was stuck in Madras with the rest of the Reliant's crew, instead of a simple white blouse and plaid skirt fit for the warm weather of Indos, the uniform for Saint Brebeuf was much more complex as it would soon be winter. The uniform consisted of a white outer buttoned coat, with a very large and exposed neckline, where anyone not wearing the matching black blouse would become indecent. The coat was much more puffy in some areas but still made the majority of the girls wearing it look elegant with their curves. Many of the girls had brought their own ribbons to accessorize their uniforms and Ami was no different. She had changed her signature pigtails to a single ponytail drawn with a large black ribbon to match her white uniform, but her hair still long and perm-y.

"I'm afraid Lord Davis will not be able to do that Lady Ami." Another voice, this time from the boy who sat beside him in class spoke up. "Doctor Hyde requested our presence to go over the latest treatment for both Magnamon and Gallantmon." Takato answered.

"Sorry Ami." Davis clapped his hand together in a way to ask Ami for her forgiveness. "I promise we'll walk home today together! I know you enjoy the sight of the fall colours and we can walk instead of having the carriage take us home. And I'll tell mom it was me who asked you to accompany me instead of having her lessons."

"That's alright Davis. I'll just have lunch with Sora." Ami replied with a small giggle. "Go, I'm sure the Doctor will finally have good news." Davis again asked for forgiveness before he grabbed Takato and headed to the doctor. As the doctor's office was near the school grounds, actually part of the school as those nobles who did stay in the school did need a stable for their large Digimon to be houses and the Doctor had to be there to see their wellbeing. In no time at all they arrived at the stables, passing the area where the health Digimon were roaming and onto the area where sick Digimon such as Magnamon and Gallantmon were housed.

"Lord Liverpool and Lord Manchester. How are you." The Doctor greeted. Recently, Koushiro had adopted Takato as his brother seeing as they both had no family left and Koushiro needed an heir incase he did not return from the war. "I'm afraid I have bad news. It seems the latest treatment has had no affect and both Magnamon and Gallantmon seem to be in more pain the usual."

"Have you tried a different combination of ingredients?" Davis asked as he looked around the stables. His eyes settled on the large pile of mushrooms that still had not been used.

"Everything." The doctor replied. "But nothing has worked. We've even tried different soups and medicines that did not require the mushrooms and hundreds of different recipes with the mushrooms. Davis sighed for the third time that day. He wanted to help his Digimon but he was simplely powerless against this unknown disease and lack the knowledge for medicine.

"We can only hope this takes a better turn as it did with Agumon." Davis replied as he and Takato tanked the doctor. Before leaving the stables, Davis neared his sick Digimon, asleep from the power of the illness. Davis put his sand to his Digimon's golden armour. _I swear I'll find a way to save you buddy_.

The rest of the day was spent in different class, some he shared with Ami and some he did not. The last of which was music but Davis received an exception for not playing any instruments and instead was allowed to watch from the sidelines. Of course the class did require him to write different assignments in the subject of music history to make up his lack of musical talents. Ami too was in that class and unlike Davis, she was very much skilled in playing different instruments, some from her past as a pleasure girl where she was require to entertain patrons with her music and some from the violin lessons his mother was giving her as part of her shaping to be a noblewoman. Davis sat there captivated by how Ami played, most of the class was the same as many of the boys simply looked on at the girl, same could be said for the girls. It was as if Ami was in her own world and Davis felt that only him and her existed as she continued to play her violin. However they were interrupted when the final bell rang to end the school day.

As promised, Davis had took Ami's arms as soon as she was done packing her things and with one swift movement by Davis, he took Ami's school bag in one hand and her hand in the other and moments later they were on the streets of York heading home. The walk was quite as they both remained silent while Ami looked at the trees with starry eyes. It was a truly beautiful autumn day and the sun was slowly setting. The school was near the outskirts of the city, while Davis' mother had decide their home was to be located at the inner walls of the city. Davis was glad this was not the Royal homeland and the capital city London, which was at least ten times larger than York.

As they entered the city's limits, where the city met with the country side, a large wind blew from behind them, causing Ami to gather herself. Davis tried to help Ami but soon realized the cause of the wind. Behind them Merukimon stood, he was large and in his full armour, his dagger "Aztec" poised to attack.

Merukimon raised his dagger into the air and screamed his on coming attack, "Spiritual Enchant!" A large apparition of himself appeared above him, translucent by sight but Davis knew it was physical if the attack were to hit. Davis quickly moved Ami behind him and raised his arms to protect her. Merukimon simply smiled before he pointed his dagger at Davis and his apparition rushed towards Davis. Davis cringed knowing he would not likely survived the coming hit and failed to notice a shadow flying past Merukimon and onto the path of the attack.

"Aura Barrier!" The shadow raised his giant round shield and purged the on coming attack. Davis' eyes went wide after releasing his own Digimon had saved him. Instead of his sickly Digimon, stood a blue dragon Digimon with a great amount of golden armour. Much like Taichi's new Mega Digimon, so too was Davis' Digimon's armour more bulky and to him seemed as a fortress.

"Are you all right Davis?" Magnamon asked.

"I'm fine buddy!" Davis replied. Magnamon nodded in understanding and turned to Merukimon. Before Merukimon could blink an eye, Magnamon was gone and above him, firing his attack at the static Digimon.

"Plasma Shoot!" Hundreds of what Davis knew to be golden arrows showered on to Merukimon before exploding on impact. Once again Magnamon disappeared with the help of his incredible speed and appeared in front of Merukimon.

"Extreme Jiha…." Before Magnamon could finish off the Roman Digimon, another voice cried into the air, "Strike Roll!" The east beneath Magnamon's feat split into two forcing the golden Digimon to take to the air.

"Brother Merukimon, are you alright?" A second enemy Digimon appeared, this one female in nature.

"Just fine sister Mervamon. Shall we take care of this problem?" Merukimon asked and with a simple nod from Mervamon, both Roman Digimon took to the sky to attack Magnamon.

"Magnamon!" Davis called into the sky. "Show them what it means to mess with the Liverpool family!" Magnamon smiled and gave Davis a thumbs up with one of his large claws. And without even a moment passing by, Magnamon shot another hundred golden arrows at the two rushing Digimon, causing them to be knocked back on the ground below.

"Extreme Jihad!" Magnamon yelled as he unleashed his most powerful attack. A wave of golden light appeared through Magnamon's armour before flying towards the two Roman Digimon, shinning every colour of the rainbow as it few through the air. The moment the attack hit the two Roman Digimon, they became hundreds of golden particles of light, rising into fiery twilight sky.

Davis signed with relief, turn back to make sure Ami was okay. She replied with a silent smile. Magnamon landed in front of the two, Davis could only stare at his Digimon's new form. His armour was larger, his tail was longer, and his claws bigger.

"Thanks buddy, you saved us back there." Davis started.

"No probably Davis. Who would feed me all those steaks if you were gone." Magnamon replied in his deep voice but with an air of innocence. Davis was taken back but recovered quickly, Ami let out a giggle at the two's interaction.

"So how did this happen?" Davis asked.

"I don't know. One moment I was in another spell of pain and the next I felt my body move on its own. Next thing I knew, I was here and my body felt better than ever." Magnamon pounded his claws at his newly acquired armour.

"Taichi-san's Digimon calls himself WarGreymon X." Ami made a thoughtful pose with one finger on her pink lips and her eyes in the air. "Maybe we should call you Magnamon X." Ami wondered.

"I like the sound of it! Magnamon X, my Digimon!" Davis announced, one fist in the air.

"Does that mean I can have some steaks tonight?" Magnamon X asked out of innocence.


	56. Book 5 Chapter 11

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 11: Koushiro**

The HIMAS Tristan was unusually quiet, all that could be heard was the sound of the crackling wood as the ship bent through it's tight turns. Dawn would soon erupt and so too would the chaos they were about to create. The early morning sky help hide their air ships, sailing down from the north, encountering minimal resistance as they made their way south to their target: London. Even though the homeland was occupied by a foreign force, Koushiro could not believe there were those who actually sided with the Romans; mostly as politicians who were against the crown as the Roman army only allowed pure blooded Romans into it for one reason or another. The resistance that they did come across were simply Digimon under the influence of the Romans such as Neptunmon and of those who belong to individual Lords whom had sided with the Romans. They had yet to see the legendary super weapons the Romans were rumoured to have but London was the strong hold of the Roman claim to the Empire's homeland, renamed Britannia for their pleasure.

The mission required their entire fleet to be as stealthy as possible, to surprise the Romans stationed at London to be caught off guard at the first light of day. It was Koushiro himself that had come up with the plan, as otherwise Taichi's original plan was to rush in and ask questions late. Koushiro had notice a drastic change about his friend, instead of the calm and collected Taichi who preferred peace, as Taichi was the one who suggested peaceful negotiations with both the Nijiri's and Daimon Masaru during their separate incidents; but with the lost of his wife, who Koushiro finally learned was actually Lady Mimi Alsace, Taichi had become quite rash and in some ways violent as he always resorted to fists. Even with the minimal resistance they did encounter, Taichi was always first to send his Digimon out and once the main forces did reach the battle field, it would already be over with Taichi and his WarGreymon standing along in victory. Koushiro sighed, it was a good thing Tiachi was on their side and not the enemy, he had witnessed it himself when he tried to invade Saint Germain. Looking back at all the adventures they had in the last year, Koushiro was glade he had indeed become friends with the young Lord Captain.

"Lord Admiral, London at twelve o'clock, seven kilometre. Awaiting orders." Koushiro's group was gathered at the bridge of his ship, the Tristan unlike the Royal ships, had an innovative new design whereby the wheelhouse of the ship was a raised cabin deck instead of the exposed outer deck. The room acted as Koushiro's command centre as well as the hub of the ship where his upper officers were located, Daimon Masaru too was present as he was the main tool of communication between Koushiro and Taichi.

"Hold all guns until daybreak, Masaru please rely the same to Taichi." "Ay-ay sir!" multiple voices spoke up to confirm they had received the order.

The ships slowly glided ever so closer to London as Koushiro could see the outlines of the city proper with all its houses and streets. London was a large city, the largest in all of the old world and Koushiro knew it would not be an easy task trying to siege the city, even if it were by air. He had included every factor he could think of when he was calculating the estimated time it would take for them to invade such a city. He had figure it would take them no less than a days, if they were to win a flawless victory but Koushiro knew that would be impossible and the best he could hope for would be no more than three. Even if he took on part of the city, the other half would be even harder, there were hundreds of guns stationed along the Themes as defence, installed by the Empire themselves if the threat of aerial invasion and now that the Romans posed it, with their legendary black chromedigizoid shells, it would be a hard battle to come.

At the corner of his eye, Koushiro could see the first specks of light as the sun began to peek through the horizon. Koshiro knew in a matter of seconds, all of London would wake to the sound of cannon fire and the horrible oder of death. _Its now or never_.

"All guns, aim for the barrack walls. Fire on my signal!" Koushiro ordered.

"All guns ready!" The order was shouted again by lower officers as they prepared the crew, Masaru had his Digivice close to Koushiro so the Reliant could receive its orders. For the rest of the fleet, the communicators on board the Tristan began their series of flag signalling, hard to see with what little light they had but enough so that the orders were confirms by the other ships.

"FIRE!" Koushiro yelled out his order. It sounded as his ship had exploded, with eighty guns on board it was loud enough for Koushiro to feel as though it was an earthquake beneath his feet. It would sound even louder of Taichi as his ship had one hundred guns. They had seventy ships and the sound became deafening once every other ship started to fire their guns seconds after the ones on the Tristan fired. The attack had worked but Koushiro knew it was not enough to stop the Romans from firing back. He could see through the wheelhouse windows, the Romans were starting to gather themselves and preparing the Empire installed guns ready to fire back at them. He knew he had to defend against the coming attack or their attempt at seizing the homeland would fail but surely he had already planned ahead; he nodded towards Masaru as the young Ming boy return the nod.

"Taichi-san, its our turn to have a little fun." Masaru shouted into his Digivice as he ran out of the wheelhouse with Agumon in tow.

"All right, I've been waiting for this. Lets kick some Roman ass!" Koushiro could hear the captain reply through Masaru's digivice.

"You ready Agumon?" Masaru asked towards his partner and with a reply from Agumon, "Let's show them what the number one street brawler can do Aniki!"

"Digisoul Charge! BURST!" Masaru cried as he flung his burning hand onto his Digivice. Agumon ran to the side of the ship before jumping off into the air.

"Agumon shinka!" Agumon as always became covered in a bright light and was replaced by his more powerful form. "ShineGreymon Burst Mode!" Using his giant flaming wings, ShineGreymon pushed off towards the Romans trying to defend the walls. Koushiro could see two lights coming off of the Reliant as the bigger ship flew beside and soon the lights were flying behind ShineGreymon - WarGreymon X and UlforceVeedramon had taken off to defend the fleet from the on coming canon shells.

The moment the Digimons flew into the sight of the Roman canons, the sky began to rain with fire. ShineGreymon had used his fire manipulation to destroy as many of the shells as he could - at first by using his flames as a giant fiery shield but when he became too overwhelmed with canon fire, he resorted to cleaving each one in half with his fire swords, opting for the ones he missed to be cleaned up by WarGreymon and UlforceVeedramon. Even though their fleet was the largest one on record, they only had five Digimon with them and Koushiro was planning on using them sparingly. His own Digimon was all but useless against enemies that had weapons that could break through chromedigizoid armour - he could barely fathom what would happen if MegaKabutarimon were to be hit by mythical black metal and they had use Lily and Lunamon to the point of exhaustion in the previous few battles and needed her to be rested. At least with ShineGreymon he could easily use his flames to shield himself against any projectiles, while WarGreymon with his new "X body" as if it were, had better armour then his previous mega form, and finally Rei's UlforceVeedramon could easily outrun anything, making it almost impossible to strike.

Koushiro had already given the Digimon a winning strategy, while ShineGreymon used his flames to shield against canon fire, WarGreymon and UlforceVeedramon would fly past once it was time for the Romans to reload and disable each barrack one by one. It was working as far as Koushiro could tell - the Digimon were much too far already for Koushiro's eyes to track, only specks of something shining in the sky would tell him what the Digimons' positions were. It had work enough so that the outer city's defences were currently disabled, allowing their massive fleet of airships to fly above the city's many houses. He could see the streets fill with people who welcomed them as liberators, while some most stayed within the safety of their own houses trying not to be caught in the cross fire. As their fleet came closer upon their Digimon, Koushiro could see that half of the defences which lined the Themes were disabled, only leaving some of the south side still shooting at towards them.

ShineGreymon was breathing heavily from inexperience fighting in such long battles, as Koushiro knew the mega Digimon would often defeat his enemies in a matter of minutes but had never fought in battles which would last hours upon hours. WarGreymon was doing no better but UlforceVeedramon looked to be just fine, his speed causing him no ill effects. Koushiro knew that once they had taken out the majority of the barracks lining the Themes river, he could easily rest the Digimon as victory would ultimately be his.

"ShineGreymon!" He heard Masaru yell from the top deck of the ship. "Keep it up a little longer, we've almost got this."

"Hai Aniki!" ShineGreymon yelled back with a baited breath. The canon fire was less intense now and it allowed the Digimon to temporarily gather themselves for a final push.

"Dragon Breath!" A large dragon energy projection flew towards the Digimon only to be taken full blast by ShineGreymon who was caught unaware.

"ShineGreymon!" Masaru screamed towards his Digimon as ShineGreymon himself fell from the skies only to have the houses lining up on the shores of the Themes break his fall. Thankfully the Themes did not feature as many houses as it would on some of the inner city regions, leaving minimal damage to ShineGreymon and the human population; although they could not be sure if the occupants of the house ShineGreymon fell on made it to safety but Koushiro could see the Digimon was visibly knocked out.

"Dynasmon!" UlforceVeedramon spoke as he caught sight of who had attacked them. "Lay down your arms Dynasmon, you have already lost this city, there is no meaning for you to continue to attack. Return to Yggdrasil and tell him we are ready for him."

"You are a fool UlforceVeedramon. You should know better than anyone as a member of the Royal Knights, Lord Yggdrasil can not be stopped." Dynasmon answered with his booming voice, his voice had become be cynical after years of betrayal.

"I was never part of the Royal Knights, you and I are from different worlds. It does not matter though, we and our Digidestined partners will never lose to someone who threatens the worlds." UlforceVeedramon relayed, although Koushiro had no idea what he meant by different worlds, perhaps it was only a figure of speech. He could not dwell on unimportant matters, what needed his attention now was the battle at hand.

"I see, just like those foolish chosen warriors all those years ago. Then I shall make Lord Yggdrasil proud by defeating his enemies!" Dynasmon declared at the two remaining mega Digimon. "Dragon's Roar!" Dynasmon launched two beams of light from his hand as they flew into a double helix at UlforceVeedramon and WarGreymon.

The two mega Digimon easily dodged Dynasmon's attack and continued onto their own attacks at the dragon knight. The two mega Digimon flew at opposite sides of Dynasmon, trying to catch him off guard on at least one side of the the Digimon. "Ulfroce Saber!" "Dramon Killer!" yet Dynasmon easily caught the two attacking Digimon with his claws, holding both at bay without using any unnecessary movements. Koushiro knew the two Digimon at the peek of their power could easily handle a single Dynasmon but after hours of fending off Roman canon fire, they were sitting ducks for dragon knight Digimon. And with a single throw by either hand, both mega Digimon were on the ground with impact craters and broken houses beneath them.

"Hahaha, have you come to realize the true power of the Royal Knights? Our dedication to Lord Yggdrasil cannot be masked, as long as we remain loyal we will never fall." Dynasmon exclaimed at the two fallen Digimon, as ShineGreymon too was only a short distance from where they fell, still unable to gather himself.

"Arrow of Artemis!" A large arrow of ice flew towards Dynasmon but not quick enough as Dynasmon was able to easily dodge and catch the arrow in his hands, crushing it to a million tiny ice particles. "I have come to avenge my brothers and sisters from Yggdrasil's lies." A voice calmly said as all eyes landed on Dianamon.

"Ah Dianamon, I see that my last attack did not finish you off. I shall remedy this soon as any traitor to Lord Yggdrasil shall pay for their betrayal!" Dynasmon replied and launched an attack at the moon god, "Dragon's Roar!"

Dianamon had thought she dodge the simple attack but soon realize Dynasmon's beams could bend at will and follow her. She had no other choice but to use her crescent harkens with a beautiful smoothness to block Dynasmon's attack. The second she did however, she lost sight of her enemy and found herself too late when Dynasmon reappeared behind her and fired another attack. She screamed in pain but did not fall like the rest of her allies.

"Lord Yggdrasil will be pleased when I bring him your sweet data." Dynasmon gloated, giving Dianamon enough time to launch her own series of attacks.

"Arrow of Artemis!" This time instead of shooting a single arrow of ice, with a single shot from her harken acting as a bow, she shot hundreds upon hundreds of ice arrows at Dynasmon. Being no slouch himself, Dynasmon flew backwards at high speed dodging without a single arrow landing a blow. However, Dianamon smiled when Dynasmon fell in to her trap, using her speed Dianamon appeared behind Dynasmon as he was trying to avoid the arrows and launched her attack catching Dynasmon defenceless, "Goodnight Moon!" With a swift kick of her legs, two beams of moon shaped energy flew at Dynasmon, hitting him square in the back.

"What is the meaning of this! How can I not move!" Dynasmon screamed as he hovered motionless in the sky.

"For my sister and brothers, good bye Dynasmon." Dianamon replied without emotion, reading her harken again like a bow. She gathered the moisture around her as they formed into a large arrow and fired it. Unable to move, Dynasmon could only look on as the arrow hit his body and pain erupted moments later. Koushiro was shocked when after everything that had happened, Dynasmon still stood even after taking Dianamon's full attack; although Dynasmon did not come out unscathed as a large hole in his left abdomen and his entire left arm was missing, disappearing into tiny digital particles after Dianamon's arrow had hit.

"My arm! How dare you!" Dynasmon screamed in frustration. Dianamon was about to ready herself for another shot of her crescent when what looked like a summon circle appeared behind Dynasmon.

"That is enough Dynasmon." A commanding female voice called out, it boomed through the entire city.

"My Lord Yggdrasil. I can still beat this traitor, the city can still be saved." Dynasmon turned to the circle.

"You are a fool Dynasmon, do you not see that the other Digimon have all but recovered from your earlier attacks? You will be no match for four mega level Digimon. Return through this Digiport, I order you!" Yggdrasil replied, again the voice could be heard every where within the city.

"Yes MILORD!" Dynasmon flew through the circle before it too disappeared into thin air. All around them the city became quite as the canon fire from the remaining barracks stopped. In the wheelhouse of the Tristan, all those who surrounded Koushiro began to clap and congratulate him on the victory and the return to the Empire's homeland. Koushiro let out one exhausted exhale and began shaking hands with those around him for a job well done.

The day after had brought renewed optimism as the realization of having defeated the undefeatable Romans had become real. As they walked the streets from the make shift port on the Themes river to Tottenham Court, the magnificent castle which once housed the royal family before King Cody's exile to the new world, people lined the streets to congratulate them on their victory and their own liberation from Romans. Taichi had agreed to a meeting between themselves to plan their next course of actions.

Entering Tottenham Court was a surreal experience, he had never thought he would see it again after his defeat during the war with Royal. Now that he was there, it brought back nostalgia to the days leading up to the war. There was so many memories from this place, when he first arrived and met the previous King when he was just a boy, the day he was dubbed Lord Manchester, and as he entered the inner court where King Cody had once held court, it broke back the memories of when he voted for the war. It seemed so long ago now and looking back on it, if he had not voted for the war he would have never met Taichi.

Taichi had been waiting in one of the rooms which was once a high Lord's office, temporarily used as a war room for their own purposes. The others had been there too, Daimon Masaru, Rei Saiba, Lady Lily Crowle, and Taichi de Basse Normandie; all crowded around a large table holding maps of Royal.

"Good morning milady and milords, shall we get down to business?" Koushiro started as he found a place between Taichi and Rei. "The scouts have reported all remaining Roman forces to be captured and we see no apparent movement from the Royal homeland."

"Koushiro, I hope you've seen the reports from our troops about the Romans we've capture." Taichi replied.

"What reports?" Koushiro asked confusingly. He could see Taichi frown; whatever was on the report, Taichi looked visibly shaken from it.

"Every one of them we've capture are, for a lack of better words, brain dead. They act as living corpses, they don't function to any external stimulants or have the ability to think for themselves. The doctors say they only reply with _Yes Milord_." Taichi answered.

"It has to be Yggdrasil's doing!" Masaru shouted in anger.

Koushiro was confused, he did not think Masaru to be religious; so he had to ask, "Yggdrasil?" Masaru looked off guard and seemed as he had let out a secret he shouldn't have. Rei too looked as if Masaru had taken the cat out of the bag and Taichi looked to be deep in thought.

"Koushiro, Lily, I think it's about time to come clean." Taichi started as Koushiro and Lily both turned their attention to Taichi. "First of all, I'm not Taichi de Basse Normandie. I'm Yagami Taichi." Taichi continue to tell the two Empire nobles about his life before and how he had come to their world. Rei and Masaru too told them of their story and finally who their true enemy was. "Yggdrasil is not a god, rather its something we humans call an AI, an Artificial Intelligence, a computer." Taichi explained.

"A computer?" Koushiro replied, already fascinated with Taichi's tales of his world and the so called Digital World he had been at before coming to theirs. _To think another world, no two worlds and possibly even more exists and we have yet to explore the entirety of our own world. Incredible, just incredible!_

"An advance calculator of sorts is the best way I can think to explain, but Yggdrasil has enough brain power if you will, to operate its very own consciousness. And it has learned enough, so that now it thinks it is above us humans and want to try to be the sole decider on what we can do." Taichi continued.

"Thats horrible!" Lily exclaimed, Lunamon too spoke up, "Yggdrasil lies to everyone about his paradise but really he just wants to be a tyrant."

"But how is he going to do this, it seems like some sort of fantasy." Koushiro replied.

"Just like the report saids, the Roman soldiers we've capture are all brain dead. I think it's just the start of what Yggdrasil can do. He must have a plan to take over the entirety of the human race. We have to stop him before he executes his plans." Taichi stated.

"Yggdrasil is currently residing with the Golden Lion, if you find him, you'll find Yggdrasil." Lunamon spoke up.

"We can send our fleet towards Royal, rumour has it the Golden Lion is occupying Central. And we can send for reinforcements from the colonies now that we have a foot hold with the capture of the Empire's homeland."

"No Koushiro, I can not burden you and the rest this country with our fight." Taichi interjected. "Yggdrasil was responsible for bring us into this world and it'll be our responsibility to rid this world of it."

"But Taichi, we can not sit by idly. Just as you have said, the balance of this world depends on Yggdrasil's down fall." Koushiro replied hotly.

"I can't allow that to happen Koushiro. There's already been so much bloodshed, I don't want any more. Central will only be infiltrated by Rei, Masaru and myself. I forbid anyone else from coming with us." Koushiro could see his friend had made his stance and would not change his mind.

"Then at least let the Allied Air Fleet take you to the Royal Coast, it will be too heavily guarded and even with your mega Digimon, it'll be had for you to enter." Koushiro explained. Exhaling a large sigh, Taich finally accepted Koushiro's offer.


	57. Book 5 Chapter 12

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 12: The World Tree**

Yggdrasil was not happy with the current events that had unfolded. Sitting at the centre of what use to be his servant's temple on top of the highest mountain within Roma territory, the spherical body of the super computer looked onto nothingness as it thought about his next course of actions. Only his loyal servant Taichi had remained and the foolish Dynasmon he had summoned into this world, but he was virtually useless from the start. The day of the black sun was only a few days away and Yggdrasil could not allow for any more interference from the avatars he had summoned from his world any longer. The day of the black sun would be where Yggdrasil would be at his strongest and this would finally allow him to execute his End_of_the_World program, allowing him to the be sole thinker within this world.

He still had his trump card though, as the day of the black sun was also the very same day where the walls between this world and the real world would be at its weakest and he knew those whom he had brought into this world would want to go back to their own. They had a choice to make, their own or to stay and be subjugated by this thoughts. He knew they would chose to go home of course, human were weak creatures easily giving in to their urges. In some ways he was glad these humans existed, it allowed him to ultimately learn through their eyes and experience their own emotions in order for himself to build a human thought program into himself. Yggdrasil was the ultimate AI, capable of a billion thoughts all at once.

There was a worry however, his loyal servants from this world were all but gone. It saved him the trouble for soiling his own hand as he knew the six Roman Digimon always had the ability to betray him in the end; it was why he ordered Dynasmon to rid Dianamon that day by making it seem as his attack miss fired. It had become a repeating pattern for him, betrayed by his most loyal servants in the end, just as Alphamon had betrayed him, just as his Royal Knights betrayed him, and just as the Romans would ultimately betray him. That was why he looked toward other worlds for what he needed. Dynasmon was betrayed by a false god in his world and there Yggdrasil saw the perfect opportunity for a new servant but Yggdrasil also knew Dynasmon would also in the end betray him but it made better sense for him to keep him around; one Digimon did not have the power to overpower himself. Taichi on the other hand was without a doubt his most faithful servant, after all it was Yggdrasil himself that saved the Basse Normandie boy from death and raised him himself; he had planted a seed that could never be dug out.

Slow footsteps could he heard coming towards his chamber and he could see the glint of light which shawn off of the figures golden armour. Taichi de Basse Normandie stood tall as he entered Yggdrasil's presence, his long, lion mane like hair flowed behind him and a cruel smile on his face.

"It seems it is finally time we made your presence known to the world my boy." Yggdrasil announced with his siren like voice.

"I look forward to finally meeting my other half, the boy who made my bride fall in love with him." Taichi replied, his cruel smile, cat like as if he looked forward to playing with his toys.

"Now, now my boy. You forget that the avatar known as Yagami Taichi has allies with him, strong ones that we cannot underestimate. You can not possibly think, even with your own Digimon, that you can single handily take down an entire army." Yggdrasil replied.

"Of course milord, I am not a fool like Dynasmon, I understand my limits. After all, I only need to hold my ground enough for you to activate your program. I also have a little flower that Yagami Taichi won't dare to harm, he will be helpless against me." Taichi laughed.

"Be that as it may, I have something that will help you." Yggdrasil's spherical body floated from his original place at the centre of the temple chamber and to one end of the round room. As on cue, a beam of light entered as the ceiling of the room opened and the broken body of Dynasmon floated in.

It was a strange sight, Dynasmon was an honourable knight from his Royal Knights and to see the body of the Dragon Knight limp and missing the entirety of his left side was truly disturbing. Dynasmon was not moving, Yggdrasil had made sure to put the Dragon Knight in a deep sleep after Yggdrasil could not stand the pitiful sight of his knight. Taichi's left eyebrow lifted in questioning him.

"And what would I do with a broken toy?" Taichi questioned.

"Patience my son, patience my son." Yggdrasil repeated. He moved his round body to the body of the broke Dragon Knight and with his ominous power, created a round light and meld it to Dynasmon's body. "I have infused Dynasmon with my X-program, as well as an antibody."

"Using your own failure as a tool I see." Taichi laughed. Yggdrasil frowned inside, the boy was becoming more and more cynical. He would have to make sure the End_of_the_World program would also effect his surrogate son.

They were interrupted when Dynasmon awoke and started to scream in pain. The X-program was working and soon the antibody would take effect and repair Dynasmon's broken body. The scream continued for awhile as both the program and it's fix was working their programming and as Dynasmon's digital core began to reformat itself. Then as the antibody too effect, Dynasmon's screams of pain intensified as a bright light surrounded Dynasmon's body. The light was bright and blinding, enough so that Taichi had to cover his eyes with the help of his hand.

The light that covered Dynasmon's body began to fade and an new Digimon stood before them. This form had an extra set of wings, sharper structures on its armor and more pronounced horns. It looked like an ominous dragon more than an exalted knight. Along with Dynasmon's new beastly body, Yggdrasil could see from Dynasmon's eyes he had lost some of his sanity and he had indeed become more beast than a knight.

"Graawwwww!" Dynasmon roared out. Again Taichi gave Yggdrasil a questioning look.

"Do not worry Taichi. Although Dynasmon has lost his ability to think properly, he still remains loyal to me. He will attack anyone who oppose me and I give you full control of Dynasmon." Yggdrasil explained.

"Thank you milord." Taichi replied.

"Now go Taichi, the time will be soon upon us. I shall move myself to Saint Germain on the day of the black sun, it will be the central point of all that is to happen."

"Of course milord." Taichi saluted to Yggdrasil with a fist to his left breast. "Come Dynasmon." Taichi called as he and the newly reprogrammed Dynasmon X left Yddgrasil to his own thoughts.

_The time will be soon upon us. You may have bested me before Daimon Masaru but even you will not be able to stop me this time. I thank you for defeating me the first time, it helped me to see the errors of my ways. Humans are not a danger to Digimons, no humans are more useful than I thought. I have seen through the eyes of my avatars, even you Daimon Masaru, in the end helped me gain the knowledge of how humans operate. I will be the final judgement and I have already judged humans to be unnecessary and the end is near. _


	58. Book 5 Chapter 13

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 13: Lord Davis of Liverpool**

"Why?" Davis asked passionately but it turned to a whisper due to his frustration. "Magnamon isn't sick anymore and more powerful than ever. Gallantmon has his new form now and I'm sure he'll be more than a match if any rogue Digimon decides to show up. Now that the homeland has been captured, they'll need me more than ever. I beg of you Your Majesty, allow me to go as reinforcements for the campaigns in Royal!"

The boy king merely sat on his thrown looking bored at Davis and Davis could see he was not about to change his mind. "Lord Davis of Liverpool, how many times must we tell you. King Cody di Tottenham's safety is of the utmost priority, we cannot allow our best Digimon go off fighting a war that we have already won. What remains of the Royal homeland does not matter to us." A man standing beside the King answered. The man was who Davis knew to be one of the King's top advisors and although generally giving the King good advice on what was required o him, Davis did not like this man.

"Are you saying your ready to give up on this alliance already even after Royal has helped us regain our own homeland?" Davis asked in anger.

The man merely smirked which Davis found to be quite disgusting, "You are thinking about this all wrong milord. Rather than seeing this as an alliance, we should look at it as the perfect plan to finally rid ourselves of these Royal barbarians. Their new King has no influence on his people and his court is ready to betray him at a moments notice. It is the perfect time to plant seeds that will ultimately bring an end to Royal."

Davis was beyond angry, deciding to not hold back, he rushed to the man and picked him up off the ground by grabbing the man's shirt's neckline, "What kind of coward are you? Betraying our most loyal allies in their time of need and right after they saved our homeland! How do you live with yourself?" Davis' face flexed with hatred as he threw the man aside. He looked towards Cody for an answer; the King looked shocked at his friend but finding no answer.

"Guards arrest this man!" The previous advisor Davis had thrown called. The royal guards were quickly on Davis, one on each side of him taking him by his arms.

"No!" The King interjected. "Free him at once!" The guards dropped Davis as he gained his footing. Giving Cody one last look of frustration before storming out of the King's throne room. Davis sighed out of frustration and then punch the wall with one arm, "Dammit!"

"Don't worry Davis, the King knows better than to go against our ally. Advisors will always be corrupt and Cody knows to take their advice with a grain of salt. I'll give Cody a talk, that man will be gone from the King's sight by tonight." A soft, female voice started behind him. Davis turned around to find the redhead standing behind him with a kind smile.

"Thanks Sora." Davis replied with some relief.

The girl behind him gave a giggle, "To think, the boy most eager to go to war with Royal only a year ago now has become the man who would protect them with his life."

"Laugh it up." Davis replied embarrassingly, his anger was replaced by bright red cheeks.

Sora in an instant took his arms and guided Davis away from the King's throne room. "Come Davis, I hear Ami and your mother has a surprise for you waiting at home. While you're at it, you'll have to tell me all about this Captain Taichi everyone keeps talking to me about."

The travel back to his mother's manor was a short one, by carriage it was no less than a breath away from the King's makeshift manor. However, Davis noticed an increase in people on the street that day, probably out and about after hearing news of the victory His Majesty's army had against the Romans and the liberation of their homeland. Many of the people who had moved to the New World did it out of fear and many still left family behind when they were escaping. It was no wonder so many people were celebrating today after hearing about the freedom of family members who remained when the Romans took over. Davis had used the little time they did have in telling Sora about the adventures he had with Taichi, from how he had saved Koushiro from an assassination attempt and how the Captain had saved Ami from a life of being a whore and introducing her to himself.

As they entered the front lawn of Davis' large manor, he noticed it being much more subdue than it regularly was. Usually the staff of the manor were much more active and although today was a sunday, there was usually a cornucopia of shouting and energy vibrating through out the house and often rippling outside too. However today he did not feel that energy, even when stepping through the front door; as if everyone was being quite and some secret was being kept without his knowledge. Then he remembered Sora having said Ami and his mother had a surprise for him, and when looking back at the girl walking just behind him, she looked to have an air of mischievous innocence.

Having some doubts of what was going to happen, Davis called for his mother.

"Up here Davis." His mother's muffled called out from the back of the house, Davis guessed she was in the large living hall his mother used when ever she decided to have a social gathering. Davis quickened his pace and enter the room, what he found nearly caused him to faint.

Standing on a large footstool in the centre of the room was Ami, his mother next to her on the ground and about a dozen or so maids around the girl as they prepared to make adjustments to their masterpiece. The masterpiece, was Ami herself of course, but she was wearing a very large and what Davis could only think, a very expensive white dress. His mind blanked for a moment before realizing what Ami was actually wearing.

"Well what do you think?" Ami shyly asked.

Davis found himself unable to use his voice and it took Sora to elbow him in the ribs when he finally woke up from the shock. "Beautiful." Was the only word he could find. He was in constant battle with himself over the past few days if he truly was in love with the girl or if it was merely lust. He knew after Taichi had brought her to him, he would not be able to live without her but that was only because he figured she would remain his washer maid but now he knew she was much more than a mere maid to him. He did not care if his mother would one day figure out Ami was not some Princess from a far away land but a simple street whore. And when she did find out, Davis knew he would never give Ami up, not after seeing her in that dress and if his mother did not like it, she would not be able to do anything.

Both he and Ami had blushes on their faces while his mother and Sora both pasted the biggest gins he had ever seen. Ami and himself just looked at each other without a single word spoken to each other for what seemed like minutes. It was only when the silence became too unbearable for the couple in the room did his mother decide to speak up.

"Come Sora, I think we should leave these two love birds alone." And with that she lad lead Sora out of the living hall along with the maids who were working on adjusting the dress to fit Ami. Davis did not care if the dress did not perfectly fit Ami, she looked beautiful even though she was imperfectly dressed and if the dress did fit her perfectly, Davis knew he would have indeed fainted. Again silence prevailed in the room as Davis tried to gather everything about Ami and her dress and Ami merely looked down at the floor out of embarrassment from being on display for Davis.

It was then Davis decided to walk towards the blushing bride; taking her one hand into his own and kneeling down on one knee. Ami looked to be confused as to what Davis was doing but she blushed harder none the less.

"Lady Ami Kitajima." Davis started as his voiced cracked from his fast beating heart and his face become hotter from the increased blood flow, "Will you allow me the honour of courting yourself milady?" Davis asked trying to gather himself from embarrassment.

"Davis-sama, what are you…doing?" Ami trailed off.

"I never got the chance to formally ask you permission to court you. It's a noble tradition for a male heir to ask a lady or her father permission to allow him to court her. So that's what I'm doing, making it official." Davis explained trying to avoid eye contact. Davis knew her eyes were mesmerizing and he did not want to get lost in them at the moment.

"Then yes Davis-sama, with all my heart, yes!" She replied as she jumped from her stool and into his arms, surprising him as he was getting back up from his one knee.

The night was celebrated by his mother holding another one of her social gatherings, just this time it was quite larger and more elaborate than her smaller gatherings. There was music provided by a strings quartet, the food slaved away by the chefs of the house with the help of Davis himself as he needed something to do that afternoon when fitting for Ami's dress still continued on. For most of the night, Ami and himself had stayed together while other nobles came to congratulate the two on their future wedding and generally facing each other. The party lasted well into the night and if it weren't for Davis reminding everyone that he and Ami had class in the morning, the party would have gone on into the morning. He soon found himself with Ami in bed, although their usually shyness around each other was still apparent, Davis had slept the best sleep he had for months, as the thought of a future with Ami together calmed him greatly.

In the morning, for the first time ever, he found Ami snuggled close to him and still asleep as the sunlight beamed into their bedroom. Usually Ami would be awake way before him for early lessons with his mother but today, after the party, his mother was probably much too tired to have lessons for her future daughter-in-law. He had wanted to stay in this position for the rest of the day and he finally understood why Taichi had always stayed half the morning away in his own room or cabin with Mimi. It was not until one of the maids knocked on his closed door to remind himself and Ami they had classes that morning and they would hurry and dress if they did not wish to be late. With a small nudge towards Ami, she opened her big eyes at him and gave him a large smile. Davis' heart speed up the moment he saw Ami's smile but reminded himself they needed to hurry up and quickly dressed himself as Ami dressed herself, and the couple headed down to the dinning hall for their breakfast. The carriage ride to Saint Brebeuf was quiet and a quick one, they were greeted by Takato at their seats and quickly settled themselves for the first class of the day.

Moments later, a women walked in. She was their literature professor and someone Davis was familiar with unlike the rest of the teaching staff. Lady Beatrix Crowle was the oldest daughter of Lord Crowle and Davis himself had met her during their time stuck in Madras. Although her sister was off to war with Taichi, Davis noticed the woman showed no ill signs from being so far away from her little sister. Lady Crowle strode up to the podium where the professors made sure everyone int he class could see and cleared her throat in warning to the class to calm down.

"I have two announcements today. Firstly, Saint Brebeuf will be participating in an experiment with Doctor Hyde in a few moments. As you know, our basic knowledge of Digimon have come into question lately thanks to the efforts of Lord Captain Taichi de Basse Normandie. Doctor Hyde wishes to see if it is possible for commoners such as those of you in this class to be able to summon your own Digimon." Lady Crowle announced. Davis was somewhat surprised and now that he had thought about it, why didn't his mother or others question why Ami herself did not have a Digimon, being a princess from a far away land. This caused Davis to panic a little, knowing such questions would be raised when Ami failed at summoning a Digimon today.

"Second of all, we have a new student today joining us. She has come from Mount Royale in New France colony to join us today, so please be kind to her." Lady Crowle then tried her attention to the door as the girl entered, dressed in the same uniform as rest of the girls at the school. _This can't be happening._

"I like everyone to show some kindness towards Lady Hikari de Basse Normandie. Her brother is a hero to us all and if I find anyone to be mean to her, I will personally hunt you down." Lady Crowle threatened as Davis could see Hikari was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

It was not that Davis and Hikari did not get along, it was that Hikari made it known to Davis that she was deathly jealous of the relationship Davis had with her brother. According to Hikari, Taichi made it seem as Davis was the little brother he never had and even when she was travelling with the captain and the rest of them, Taichi would often spend more time around Davis than her self, making the two sibling disconnected over the time it took them to fly from South Wales to the New World. Hikari had tried to solve the problem by spending much of her time with Davis, a plot to make her brother notice her and to get Davis away from her brother; to the untrained eye, it would have seemed like Hikari had a large crush on Davis but it was Davis who was the only one who knew the truth. _This is going to be a long day,_ he thought.

"Hikari, is there a seat you would like?" Professor Beatrix Crowle asked the Royal girl. Hikari simply nodded and smile towards Davis. Raising her hand and point at him to make it clear to everyone her intensions.

"Beside Davis of course!" The rest of the class began to mummer amongst themselves while Davis turn to Ami to find her giving him a questioning and angry face. Davis felt himself shrinking into his seat as Hikari approached with a devil like smile. Takato, also in this class and seat no the other side of him, gave way to Hikari as the professor instructed, allowing Hiarki to plot herself beside Davis and giving him another smile.

"Glad to see me again Davis dear?" Hikari had made sure she slurred and emphasized the dear part.

"Of course Kari…" It had been a nickname he came up for her when she had spent the majority of time with him and before he found out the true meaning of why she did so.

"Oh and who is this?" Hikari asked. Although they had travelled on the same envoy, Hikari had never physically met Ami as she was much too upset at her brother for what happened to Mimi and sailed on their sister ship, the Noble during their journey to the New World. Davis had heard a rumour that Hikari was very angry with her brother when he told her of Ami becoming Davis' new washer girl.

"Lady Ami of Liverpool, a pleasure to meet you Lady Hikari de Basse Normandie." Ami replied with an undertone of spice in her voice.

"Oh, I wasn't aware the Liverpool house adopting orphans. It must be nice for Davis to have a sister to talk with." Hikari replied in a whisper, Davis was thankful Hikari did have a heart to not spill Ami's secrets. However, Davis was frighten as the two girls continue to look at each with some anger and Davis could see the invisible spark looming between the two girls.

"Now as I've explained, we will begin Doctor Hyde's experiment. Please come down to the front of the class as I call your name. Cecile Asplund." Lady Crowle called as a girl at the centre of the room made her way down to the front of the class. Davis wasn't paying much attention as he was actively trying to calm both girls down and after multiple failures by commoner chidlren, it was Ami's turn. "Lady Ami of Liverpool." Called Lady Crowle. Giving one last frown to Hikari, Ami made her way down.

The class once again began to murmur amongst themselves, Davis knew they finally began to question why Ami, a so called Princess of Ming would not yet have a Digimon. Davis began to worry about what would happen if she, no, when she failed. Would they finally look into her history, would they outcast her? Ami stood centre stage as Doctor Hydle began instructing her on the process.

"Now, I want you to concentrate on happy moments in your life. And once the summoning circle appears, I'll need you to repeat after me. Is that understood?" Ami gave the doctor a nod and proceeded to close her eyes in concentration.

After a minute of silence and nothing odd occurring, the class once again began to speak up. Davis could only burry his head into his hands, scared of what the others would think of Ami once the truth got out. It was then, as Doctor Hyde was about to step up to her and tell her it was a failure, the familiar light of the summoning circle encircled her foot.

"Now Ami I want you to repeat after me…" The doctor was interrupted when Ami's song like voice called out.

"Sora no kami wa watashi no sakebi o kiku. Watashi wa kasai no chikara to kaze o shokan suru. Watashi wa daichi to umi no chikara o motomeru. Watashi no hikari to yami o dete kuru. Pichimon shokan!" A light appeared in Ami's praying hands. It flew out of her hands to form a solid body and the light disappeared to show what Ami had mysteriously summoned.

"Pichi, pichi!" A tiny, white blob with two long ears and three spikes on its back called out. It had baby like eyes and a cuteness of a new born. It floated towards Ami before curling itself into Ami's upheld hands. "Pichi, pichi!" It once again called out before falling a sleep in Ami's hands, no doubt mistaking it for its own bed.

"Amazing! I've never seen anything like it before!" Doctor Hyde exclaimed.

"How?" Davis heared Hikari ask beside him. "She's just a commoner, even if she on summoned a fresh level!" Davis had one time remember Taichi telling him that there were lower level Digimon than rookies, which many had once considered to be the lowest a Digimon could go. Taichi had said there was a level lower than a rookie called in-training and a level even lower called fresh. Yet Digimon summonings were only capable by noble blood, so how was a former street girl able to summon a Digimon?


	59. Book 5 Chapter 14

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 14: Taichi**

From the very beginning he knew this was a very bad idea and now that he was actually going along with it, he knew for sure, this was indeed a very bad idea. When they had arrived at the coast of the Royal homeland - to be more precise along the shores of the former Basse Normandie province with relatively no reaction from the Romans - they had expected the Romans to put up some resistance, like the ones they had encountered when trying to gain back London but nothing, absolutely nothing in terms of resistance from the Romans could be found. It was then Koushiro came up with what Taichi could only call a ridiculous plan that would never work. Yet here he was and the plan was in full swing.

A simple plan really but Taichi could only frown when he learned he would be used as a live bait of sorts. Taichi sighed in remembering the conversation they all had that morning.

_"Okay, Central is at least an hour or two journey from the coast by airship but by then the Roman army will no doubt have spotted us without us gaining any intelligence on their fortification." Koushiro explained to everyone who was gathered on the Tristan's war room. This included Taichi himself coming on board from the Reliant, along with Lily and Rei; Masaru who was already on board, was also present along with each of their Digimon with the exception of MegaKabuterimon as it was the only who's body was too large. _

_"So what are you suggesting? A spy mission?" Taichi asked half expecting Koushiro to share his sarcasm._

_"That's exactly what we're going to do." Koushiro replied proudly._

_"Wait I was only joking." Taichi sighed as Koushiro began unfolding one of his many large maps. This map was of Royal and it's surrounding territories. _

_"Taichi, seeing as you are the most familiar with Royal and the capital, we'll need you to infiltrate Central." Koushiro explained as he pointed at Taichi. "We've gathered news from the town we liberated that there is going to be a grand wedding ceremony for a Roman noble being held tomorrow. The Roman's will be off guard and more people are expected to be on the streets to celebrate, its the perfect opportunity for you to blend in and find their weaknesses." _

_"What? Hey I never agreed to any of this!" Taichi exclaimed in bewilderment._

_"You don't have a say in this." With a snap of his fingers, before Taichi could reacted, both Rei and Lily were on him with evil grins on their faces. And before Taichi had knew what had happened, he was already naked except for his boxer shorts and then as quick as the girls had striped of his cloths, he was again dressed. This time instead of his otherwise recognizable uniform, he was only given a white shirt and black his boots had been replaced with small pair that was more refined than practical for military use. Finally Koushiro handed him a hooded cloak, "Here, this should save you from anyone recognizing your hair. Just get in, find what you can about the city's defences and get out."_

_"What about Agumon?" Taichi asked. There was no way Taichi was going to take on an dangerous assignment unless he had backup in the form of his Digimon. _

_"I've been working on that. You see, ever since you told me about you guys being from another world, I've been having Masaru show me the ins and outs of your Digivice. Show them Masaru." All eyes turn to Masaru as he pulled out his Digivice and pointed towards his Agumon._

_"Agumon, Digitize." In an instant Masaru's Agumon disappeared in a swirl of lights as if it was being sucked into Masaru's Digivice. "Agumon, Realize." And then Agumon was whole again._

_"Thank you. Agumon will always be with you so long as you have your Digivice." Koushiro explained. _

_"Hold on a second, what makes you think my Digivice has the same capabilities?" Taichi asked._

_"Taichi, have you ever tried?" Koushiro asked back causing Taichi some embarrassment. _

_Taichi held out his older Digivice model ad pointed towards his Agumon. "Digitize!" And just as it happened to Masaru's Agumon, Taichi's too disappeared into his Digivice in a brilliant flash of light. Shocked at just what happened and fearing that there wasn't going to be a way to reverse it, Taichi panicked a little before remembering what Masaru had done. "Realize!" And again Agumon appeared._

_"There problem solved." Koushiro declared._

He sighed once again from the memory and hurried alone the dark ally he was currently hiding in. The city's streets had not changed all that much since his last visit to the capital, when King Osamu asked for an audience with him and to deliver Mimi to the King. And before that, he had spend many summers in the capital with his adoptive parents and his sister, so he was familiar with some of the more popular routes of the city. He had spent the last hour or so hidden in a poplar cafe he had become accustomed to during his time here, which made it the perfect place for him to gather intelligence against the enemies. What he had found out was what he was not expecting, the people he had conversations with, using the alias that he was a poor farmer's boy coming to the city to find a decent job, was that the people were generally happy with Roman rule; the new system of equality was better than the Noble rule they had before but of course they were oblivious to Yggdrasil's real plan. The second bit of information was that the ceremony being held in just a couple of hours was to celebrate the formal marriage for the Golden Lion and his beloved princess; Taichi had no future details as to who the Golden Lion was or how he was connected to Yggdrasil. Taichi had already assessed the situation concerning the fortifications to the city and had decided he might as well see what this Golden Lion was really like.

Lunamon, formally an ally to Yggdrasil had told him that if he had found the Golden Lion, he would also find Yggdrasil. She had explained to him that Yggdrasil had once told herself and her siblings that he could not generate his own body in this world and could only take over certain, weak minded humans if he ever needed a physically body to do his bidding. It had explained why Mimi had become under Yggdrasil's control during their first encounter on the island which they had come across the Metal Dragon. Speaking of Mimi, Taichi had not been worried at first about her well being since he had thought Mimi would be under Yggdrasil's influence as long as Yggdrasil was present but after Lunamon had told him how Yggdrasil could only control one person at a time and only for a short burst of time, he had began wondering if she was alright or not. Questions entered his head about his beloved Mimi, was she okay? Was she being held captive by Yggdrasil and if so, where? But most important of all, would she ever forgive him for not paying attention to her?

The path he had chose soon led him to an opening, leading him to the largest street in Central. The street, once knowns as Triumph Road or the most beautiful street as many called it, was grande and one of the biggest Taichi had ever seen, even bigger than most streets in Tokyo. People were already lining up along the sides of the street in order to see the coming parade of Romans, with the Golden Lion and his future wife. It made it easier for him to amongst the people and had pushed his way into the crowd to get a better view himself. He had his hood up as Koushiro had instructed, after all he was once considered a hero by the same people and it wouldn't take long for someone to recognize his iconic hair.

As he pushed through the crowd, for a second he had thought he had passed someone who he recognized. A woman he recalled as he went even further into the line of people; Taichi was sure he had seen the woman before but could not put a finger to who she was. Shaking his head to of paranoia, Taichi finally made his way to the front of the crowd. After waiting for only a few minutes, people all round him began to peak up and Taichi had noticed their attention all turned to the direction in which the Golden Lion would be preceding. Soon he caught a glimpse of the party that was finally making their way to his position on the streets but still quite a ways away. It had seemed the party was a small one, only a couple of Roman soldiers in front of what Taichi could only recall as a Mammothmon, chained and decorated with colourful fabrics and gold all around his large body. On closer look, Taichi could see two figures stationed on a platform which Mammothmon was carrying. He could see the figures but not make much detail out of them, except for the one who was wearing gold; Taichi had no doubt this was the legendary Golden Lion.

The proceedings soon came closer still, only a few yards away until they were to pass Taichi. However they were close enough for Taichi to make out the general details of the Golden Lion and his future wife. The Golden Lion himself was easy enough for Taichi, someone with golden armour like the ones he had seen in movies about the medieval period and a golden mask to cover his face; and his hair was just as it was rumoured, long and like a lion's mane. The girl on the other had was harder, Taichi could make out that she wore an elegantly made dress, white in colour with what he could see to be thin green vine like patterns all over her dress. The girl was not fat or skinny, rather Taichi found her to be beautiful even though he could only see her body from his angle.

They were coming closer and closer and before long just a few feet from where Taichi was standing. As Taichi was too engrossed in watching the proceedings, he had failed to see someone approaching him from the back of the crowd. It was too late when he noticed, but he felt a heavy shove from behind him, making him lose his balance and stumble all the way to the middle of the street, right in the pathway of which the soldiers and the Mammothmon were making their way.

"Halt! Who dares to interfere with our Lord's wedding celebrations?" The single soldier who lead the group demanded as he pointed his pike at Taichi. Taichi had his head in his hands while recovering from his fall and was for a moment disoriented at what was happening. Gathering himself, Taichi cursed for being discovered. Whoever pushed him must have thought it was a joke but Taichi knew he was in deep trouble.

"Do not worry General Leonitus, let me handle this." A familiar voice called out, Taichi found the source to be the Golden Lion. Taichi did not know why his voice sounded so familiar as he had never met anyone who looked like him. Taichi looked up towards the Mammothmon and what he saw made his eyes wide with shock. On top, standing next to the Golden Lion was Mimi and for a split second Taichi's heart dropped.

"I have been expecting you." The Golden Lion announced. "It seems you have also seen my wife to be and it must have been quite the shock." Taichi's heart then began to race, he did not understand what the Golden Lion meant but he was sure the Golden Lion knew who he was. Even though he had the safety of his hood, he could feel the Golden Lion's eyes on him, seeing though his hood. "Why don't you take off that silly hod and show everyone here who you really are? Isn't that right, Terror of Death."

Everyone around them had started to speak amongst themselves, but loud enough for Taichi to hear. "_The Terror of Death?_" "_But isn't he in the new world._" "_Is the King planning an invasion?_"

"Are you afraid to show your face oh' mighty Terror of Death?" The Golden Lion taunted. "Or should I really call you by your real name. Yagami Taichi?" The Golden Lion smirked and Taichi's eyes went wide but turned into an intense angry stare at the man in golden armour; Mimi too looked shocked when the Golden Lion announced his name.

With one swift movement of his hands, he lowered his hood to reveal his face and hair, still starring intensely at the Golden Lion. The crowd around him began to whisper even louder, no doubt they had questions as to why one of the King's most trusted soldier was sneaking around in Central. Taichi slowly reached for his Digivice he had clipped to his pants, with the help of his cloak, it had stayed hidden. Taichi waited for the Golden Lion to make his move, fingering his Digivice in anticipation. Taichi had many questions for the Golden Lion, the least of which was why his Mimi was here of all places; of course inside he knew she was still being used by Yggdrasil and the Golden Lion was the closes one to yggdrasil, it made sense no matter how much he didn't want to believe.

Taichi's eyes constantly but subduably shifted from one place to the next, trying to find escape routes as per Koushiro's instructions. The Golden Lion merely looked at him with a smirk and Taichi's eyes wondered to Mimi's. It had been the first time in weeks since they had locked eyes with each other. For a second Taichi could see the old Mimi within her eyes and it was then Taichi knew the truth; Mimi was not being controlled, she was marrying the Golden Lion willingly. Then Taichi's mind swam with questions, the most important of which, was who exactly was this Golden Lion?

"Yggdrasil has told me you would come today, after all it is fate. Today of all days, today when we celebrate my wedding with who was once your lover. Fate is truly a cruel master." The Golden Lion announced dramatically, Taichi had compared the performance to ones of Shakespearian actors he had once seen. If anything, Taichi had learned one thing about this enemy, he was a master for dramatics and it was no wonder the people of the Royal homeland loved him. "It saves me the trouble from finding you." The Golden Lion held up an all too familiar box as the lights of it's screen came to life before the Golden Lion called out, "Agumon, Realize!"

Before Taichi stood a Digimon he knew all too well - an orange dinosaur stood before him, yawning from waking. Taichi was flabbergasted before turning his attention to the Golden Lion, trying to think up of what the madman was going to do. As a precaution and trying to not give anything away, Taichi unclipped his Digivice from his belt and held it tight.

The Golden Lion mealy laughed as Taichi continued to size him up, Mimi was already forgotten in his mind even though she stood beside the man. "You really are a fool Yagami Taichi. Do you really think you'll be able to escape even though I have the majority of the Roman army stationed in Central? And did you not expect myself to have a Digimon too?" The madman laughed, tai chi could only stare back in anger.

The Roman leader's Digivice then began to glow, Taichi had already knew what was to happen next. The madman allow his free hand to glow with energy that took the form of an open flame, just like Masaru's Digisoul it glowed an orange colour.

"Digisoul Full Charge! OVERDRIVE!" The Golden Lion brought his flaming hand onto his Digivice, supercharging it with the link between human and Digimon. Agumon too began to glow in the similar fashion of which Taichi knew Masaru's Agumon had done when he was digivolving.

"Agumon Shinka!" The all too familiar light surround the mysterious Agumon and instead of the giant mega Digimon Taichi expected, just like Masaru's ShineGreymon, instead a Digimon very much like his own stood.

"VictoryGreymon!"

The new Digimon was almost a carbon copy of WarGreymon, at least what Taichi remembered of WarGreymon before gaining his X-form and instead of the well known claws WarGreymon carried, in it's place, VictoryGreymon held up with his muscular arms, a giant three-bladed claymore.

Not waiting for an invitation, Taichi immediately brought his Digivice from under his traveling cloak to release his Digimon from his Digivice, "Agumon, Realize! Digivolve now!"

With one swift motion Agumon appeared from a beam of light steaming from his Digivice and then as soon as he was out, Agumon was once again covered by light generated from Taichi's Digivice. "Agumon Shinka! WarGreymon X!" Taichi knew Agumon was aware of the situation and there was no need to explain what the plan was.

The two Digimon merely stared at each other, sizing the potential each other had before lunging at each other. "Dramon Killer!" "Dramon Breaker!" each one announced, WarGreymon bringing forth his claws while VictoryGreymon swung his sword respectively. As the two cross blades, the air became thicker as the blades hit each other with loud bangs.

Having already planned his escape route, Taichi used the distraction of the two fighting Digimon to disappear into the crowded street. Taichi knew WarGreymon could hold it's own and there was no time to worry about it's safety. Even though the city was heavily guarded and with soldier at every turn, Taichi had already planned a way out should the need had ever arrived. Looking up into the sky for a brief moment, Taichi could make out the two Digimon still fighting, knowing full well the battle just began.

"Gaia Force ZERO!" WarGreymon announced as he generated a giant ball of fire and threw it into VictoryGreymon's charging path.

"Victory Shield!" VictoryGreymon cried out at the last moment, a large energy shield was projected on his non-sword wielding hand. And as the fireball hit it, the shield protected VictoryGreymon with him escaping unharmed.

**O O O**

Taichi was furious. He had just allowed Yggdrasil's greatest enemy escape after a moment of lacking concentration on his enemy. It had been Mimi who had finally realized the other Taichi had escaped from their sight after he was too caught up in the battle between their mega Digimon. It did not matter though, Taichi knew VictoryGreymon would come out as the winner but he did not understand why his counter part had allowed his Digimon to be sacrificed like this. He looked up into the sky with a sly smile, he might as well enjoy his victory.

The two Digimon were once again locking blades. As the two gain distance from each other after their latest perry, VictoryGreymon released his grip on his hilt and with both arms on each side, grabbed the two hilts of his cross-guard. Pulling hard from both sides, VictoryGreymon released his sword into three blades as it reattached itself on his dominant arm, creating his own set of claws.

It surprised WarGreymon, "What, you have a Dramon Killer too?"

"Hmph…" VictoryGreymon smugly grinned, "Do not compare my Dramon Breaker to your weakly toy claws."

"Toy claws? I'll show you toy claws, Dramon Killer!" WarGreymon once again launched himself at VictoryGreymon. "Dramon Breaker!" VictoryGreymon countered. And again the two Digimon bounced off each other.

WarGreymon was the first to regain himself and readied his body to launch another fire ball, "Gaia Force ZERO!" Again WarGreymon threw his massive ball of fire at VictoryGreymon and again VictoryGreymon simply used his shield to ignore the attack.

"Trident Gaia!" VictoryGreymon called immediately after deflecting WarGreymon's massive fireball. Energy particles became visible as they gathered on the tip of each VictoryGreymon's three blades. And as soon as the energy gathered, the sword fired it's three beams of orange energy at WarGreymon.

WarGreymon quickly held up both his arm guards to block the blow, "Brave Shield!" And just as VictoryGreymon's shield, so too did WarGreymon created a shield out of thin air. Both Digimon were panting now, both were at it's limits; this was a surprised to Taichi, he had thought VictoryGreymon would easily have won this battle. He knew he had underestimated his double.

As the two Digimon tried to gather themselves for one more set of blows, a small fireball flew up from behind VictoryGreymon and exploded into hundreds of small lights once it hit it's maximum height.

"That's my cue." WarGreymon announced catching VictoryGreymon off guard, "Until next time." He announced before flying full speed at the source of the firework, orange particles being exhausted from his afterburners as he escaped from VictoryGreymon. As VictoryGreymon was built for power and sheer strength, it lack the speed WarGreymon was built for and was unable to catch WarGreymon as it reach its destination to pick up his human partner, before jetting away from the city.

"Damn it!" Taichi scrunched his face in anger, he had just let them get away. Mimi had tried to calm him but he knew this lose was unacceptable and Yggdrasil would not be pleased. As Mimi continued to rub his back to calm him further down, he pushed her away out of annoyance and jumped down from Mammothmon. "Agumon Digitize!" He calmly said when VictoryGreymon flew back down to the ground and transformed back to his rookie stage.

He held up his Digivice and did not care if the people around him saw what he was about to do. "Digi-port, OPEN!" A common Digimon summon circle appeared in mid air and opened into a white vortex. Taichi could hear the people murmuring amongst themselves as to what as happening and again he could have cared less. Calming walking through the portal, Taichi arrived at the inner sanctum of what was once the Olympus Digimon's temple, now used by Yggdrasil.

"You have failed." Was all Yggdrasil had said.


	60. Book 5 Chapter 15

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 15: Koushiro**

Taichi had become moodier after returning from his mission and he would not talk about it, this left Koushiro in a bad position for any future attacks into the capital. However all was not lost, as Taichi did indeed provide some vital information about the Roman defences and much like with London, Koushiro had already ran hundreds of scenarios before choosing on that would be the mod effective. What was a surprise was when Taichi had told him the Golden Lion himself possessed a Digimon, and not a Digimon which Taichi had himself seen before. The best description Taichi gave him was that the Golden Lion's Digimon, VictoryGreymon was in some ways a combination of his WarGreymon and Masaru's ShineGreymon. Koushiro had to account for VictoryGreymon too and he was sure that his plan would work perfectly.

The HIMAS Tristan, as well as the entire fleet was docked in the port city of Dover; a little town located at the south west coast of the Empire homeland. This location was ideal for the alliance as the coast to the Royal homeland was just within eyesight. Koushiro had also received word that morning, both King Cody di Tottenham and King Ken were preparing to send reinforcements for a big push into the Royal heartlands and hopefully the capture of Central within a few days. The plan was simple really, sail his current fleet into Central at least a few hours before the reinforcements arrive, allowing them to finish off the Romans once they had become weakened by their main attack.

Even though Taichi had forbid them from fighting Yggdrasil, Koushiro had convinced him that Royal was still their homeland and it was Koushiro's responsibility to see that it was captured and liberated. Still Taichi had made it clear that the Golden Lion and Yggdrasil was to be his or at least fought only by those who were from his world. It was still over Koushiro's head, the thought of going against a god but Masaru had assured him that this Yggdrasil was no god. He was still trying to wrap his head around everything that Taichi had told him, the discovery of new worlds outside his own had his head spinning, and if it were not for the war, he would be trying to discover as much as he could of other worlds in a split second.

A knock on his door was heard and he quickly gave whoever it was permission to enter his cabin. the door slowly opened a group of feet entered his small sleeping quarters, all of them dressed in the iconic green coat of a Digimon tamer. The group consisted of three people, a very tall male and two female, one with short red hair and the other with chestnut pigtails; Masaru, Rei, and Lily had entered his room with their Digimon in tow.

"Koushiro-san." Masaru started, "Have you found anything out from Taichi-san? He still refuses to leave his cabin and the Reliant is in chaos with the lack of leadership handling it's tasks."

"I'm afraid Taichi hasn't said anything to me yet. Whatever he saw in Central has him shaken but knowing Taichi, as long as we give him some space he'll bounce back to normal in no time." Koushiro answered.

"Koushiro is right. Taichi was the leader of the Digidestined after all, he's fought bad guys twice as evil as the Golden Lion and four times as strong." Rei happily said, although Koushiro could detect some hint of doubt in her voice.

"What about you Lily, any luck yourself?" Masaru asked turning to the shy girl who had her hands close to her chest as always when she was concerned about the Lord Captain. The girl shook her head in worry, she looked down cast and nearly on the verge of tears.

"He won't say anything and Agumon too. I tried to cheer him up with a homemade lunch but he just asked to be left alone." The young lady replied softly.

"Taichi-san not eating? Now that is a worry." Masaru joked, receiving a giggle from Rei. "In any case, we should plan our next move."

"Already taken care of." Koushiro idly responded as he pointed to his desk, "We'll be moving out tomorrow night and start our capture of Central the morning after. Reinforcements lead by His Highness, Prince Yamato of Orange will arrive approximately eight hours after our first contact with the enemy." Koushiro looked at his pocket watch, a little over forty-eight hours and they would be participating in the largest battle this world had yet to see. "I suggest you all use this down time to enjoy the town. I'll have a word with Taichi tonight."

"Ay-ay milord!" Rei jokingly saluted, causing everyone in the room to laugh. Rei was then successful at dragging the group out of Koushiro's room, not before saying something along the lines of "I hope Dover has a good shopping district, we'll need to get you a new dress Lily for when we celebrate our victory in Central. I'm sure Taichi would love to see you in something more formal and appealing." Koushiro could already imaging Rei giving the young girl a sly wink and Lily blushing madly.

"Then why are you dragging me along?" Koushiro could hear Masaru yell from down the hall.

"Someone needs to carry the bags." Rei replied as their voices became harder and harder to hear, existing the floor deck where Koushiro's cabin was located on. Sighing in contempt, Koushiro returned to his maps as he made final arrangements for the battle ahead. There were really two plots to contend with, the invasion and the other world's group obsession with Yggdrasil. It was only a few more days until the day of the black sun, ten days to be precise and on that day, was a decade event and the only way for Taichi and his group to return to their world. Time was against them and Koushiro knew they could not endure any set backs. He had to get Taichi back on his feet and leading their group; even though Koushiro had a higher rank within the military, he knew Taichi was a better leader and the entire country, _no the entire world counted on him!_

That night as promised, Koushiro exited the Tristan to board the Reliant which was docked only a few yards away. The crew of the Reliant greeted him but no signs of Rei or Lily, probably still only just getting back front their little shopping trip. Koushiro being familiar with the ship's layout after having served on it for the better part of the past three months, easily made his way to Taichi's cabin. With a knock on the door and no answer received, he knocked harder still only to receive a, "Go away" from Taichi's muffled voice.

Sighing, Koushiro unlatched the door knowing full well Taichi never locked his doors and entered the darkened room; the curtains were drawn and not a single candle was light. Straining to see, Koushiro could make out Agumon's shape hanging near Taichi's bed looking on with an worried face, Taichi's own body was bundled under his blankets.

"Taichi, you can't stay in bed forever." Koushiro started as the mass under the bed began to shift but stopped after realizing who had entered his room.

"You don't understand Koushiro. I can't fight her, I could never fight her." Taichi answered from under his blankets.

"And who's exactly her?" Koushiro asked.

"Mimi." And it had hit him like a ton of bricks. Taichi had undoubtedly seen Mimi in Central, meaning Yggdrasil was in Central and still in control of the body.

"Taichi, I promise we'll free Mimi from Yggdrasil's control, we just have to fight…"

"No!" Taichi interrupted him with a yell. "Yggdrasil isn't in control, Mimi was there on her own will and she's marrying that Golden Lion guy anyways. I saw how see looked at him Koushiro! It was the same look she use to give me whenever she was worried about me and I looked into her eyes too. She hates me Koushiro, her eyes, she hates me and loves the Golden Lion."

Koushiro was at a lost as to how to help his friend. He had never seen Taichi this weak before, even when he was recovering from his bullet wound, he was still able to jump to his feet when the Bolton girl was need of rescue. Koushiro could only think of one thing that would work on someone like Taichi and that was hard love.

"Taichi!" Koushrio yelled with his loudest and most commanding voice he could conjure. "The world is in danger and all you can think about is some girl who rejected you? This world may not be yours, but the stories Rei has told me about who Yagami Taichi was would never abandon his friends! Now you can sit here and wait for the day you can return home or you get get up and help us win our world back!" Koushiro allowed himself to cool off for a moment before stepping out of the cabin.

Before he could set his foot outside of the cabin, Koushiro could hear Taichi shuffling through his blankets. He was stopped when Taichi had called his name. Koushiro turn to see Taichi's head poking out of the blanket, his face still sullen but his lips turned into a smile.

"Koushiro." Taichi's voice was breathless, "Thank you." He could only return a smile to his friend and left for his own ship.

The morning came without much incident except for when Koushiro first entered the galley to pick up his morning cup of coffee to find Masaru nearly dead with his eyes wide open and drool as he layer his upper body on the table; Agumon standing beside the fallen Masaru grinning and scratching his head. Koushiro had decided it was better to leave Masaru to his own devices before returning to his own room to finish the final details for the invasion. It didn't take long before he lost count of time and the day soon turned to night and he was awoken from his work by a knock on his door.

"Milord, all preparations have been completed. we are ready to set sail on your order." A higher ranked officer on board his ship had entered and confirm with him the start of their operation.

"Yes, please inform everyone that all ships will move out at twenty-two hour. Formation Delta." Koushiro checked his watch again, confirming that operations would start in less then ten minutes. The soldier saluted Koushiro before running towards the bridge of the Tristan, having Daimon rely the order through his Digivice and for the flags-man to signal the ships that did not have any other means of communications.

Koushiro gathered his coat and other materials he would need for the operation before he felt the Tristan rumble as it unfrilled it's sails with the wind catching. He knew that was the signal that they were underway through the darkness of the night and when the sun would rise that morning, they would be met with rain made of fire. Throughout the night, everyone on board was on edge, no one was asleep, fearing that they would miss any action once the morning arrived. The stars were their only source of navigation and when the first light of the sun poked through the horizon in front of them.

"All gun at the ready! Operation Freedom, START!" Koushiro yelled as the sky began to rain with canon fire.


	61. Book 5 Chapter 16

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 16: ShineGreymon**

All around him the sky and earth burned with ash and fire, if the invasion of London had been one of the most intense battles he had been in since arriving in his world, then this was hell on earth. He was holding on the best he could, if it weren't for the help of the other Digimon, he was sure he would have been deleted by now. Dozens of shells made from black chronedigizoid kept coming his way and he found it more and more difficult to maintain his flight and his shield up. Koushiro had called for the ships to be in a diamond formation and it was his job to sit in the front of the leading ship and help clear a way through for the fleet.

Taichi had came back from his little spy mission and told them the majority of the Roman defence were located on the other ways of the city limits. If it were canon fire from regular iron shells, ShineGreymon was sure that he would have easily flew through all of it without a single scratch, but black chromedigizoid was a different story all together. He had come in contact with the material once before, when he had fought the Royal Knight Craniamon and he knew black chromedigizoid was not an easy thing to defend against - remembering Craniamon had claimed his shield Avalon had been the mightiest shield in all of the Digital World. Even in his Burst Mode, his flame could not stand up to the constant bombardment from black chromedigizoid.

ShineGreymon was using all his energy to generate his flame shield, big enough so that no canon shells could fly through from a head on direction and hit any of the ships behind. They had lost about a dozen ships with their invasion on London and he knew more ships were going to be lost today.

"ShineGreymon!" He was awoken from his concentration by the voice of his counterpart, WarGreymon X. "We're going to hit them where it hurts. We need to crave a path for the others!" WarGreymon flew next to him, using his Chromedigizoid Dramon Killer claws to cut through any canon shells that would other wise fly into his shield, lowering the load on his shield.

He nodded to signal the start of their attack and released his shield with a great shockwave. Unfrilling his wings, he prepared himself to fly through the heavy shelling from both sides. He clinched his teeth and with all his might, slipped through the firing at high speed with WarGreymon flowing his wake.

"Final Shining Burst!" He yelled once he was near enough to their target and he could see a giant explosion had destroyed many of the canon guns from on the west wall where their ships were flying through. His attack had left a large hole gaping the west defensive wall but not large enough so that canon fire stopped shooting at them.

WarGreymon flew past him as soon as he had launched his attack, so fast that a contrail of split air trailed behind him with a mix of his orange afterburners. WarGreymon flew along the top of the wall, and with the naked eye nothing had happened as he pulled up and returned to the skies, stopping as he flew up next to him. The second he hovered up beside ShineGreymon, the wall exploded into hundreds of small explosions, leaving nothing left to be aiming at them but that did not mean it was the end of the battle as they still had other sides that continued to fire at them.

The two were shaken awake when at the last moment ShineGreymon had notice a black chromedigizoid flying towards the two mega Greymon species but exploded before it hit them.

"Stop admiring your work you two, we got more enemies to take care of!" Dianamon hovered above them, giving both a cold stare.

"Don't have to tell me twice." ShineGreymon grinned as he launched himself at the direction closes to the target Koushiro had predetermined as their next priority.

It didn't take long before he came upon more intense shelling, having proved this was their next target. This was what Koushiro had told them was the previous military academy and barracks of the city and Taichi had confirmed it to still be in service. He could see soldiers running like ants on the ground, preparing more black chromedigizoid cannonballs to be fire at him. He did not like the fact that humans were dying because of him, as in the digital world death was not something a Digimon had to deal with, deletion was only part of the cycle of data being reused over and over again.

"Final Shining Burst!" Just as he had done on the western walls, what use to be the military academy was now nothing more than sourced earth. The once pounding rain of canon shells no more, allowing him some rest before moving on. He could see the other Digimon as they took out targets of their own near his location, UlforceVeedramon taking point as defence for the ship now.

Once he was rested enough to continue, he prepared himself to take flight once again but he was unprepared for an blind attack as a giant claw like hand grabbed him by the head and slammed him on to the ground. He felt pain as the claw continued to crush his head and he could not see who his attacker was hidden behind his claw but ShineGreymon could hear his attacker breathing heavily. It was nothing something he had ever heard before, for some reason it shook him, it frighten him as it sounded inhumane. His attacker then roared at the top of his lungs, deafening as his claws continue to crush ShineGreymon.

"Grey Fire ZERO!" WarGreymon's voice called out as ShineGreymon felt the enemy all together let go as it was blown back by WarGreymon's attack.

Fire surrounded the enemy by they could see his silhouette behind the flames, its wings stiffened and rose. It's horn like body became visible as the flames died down, running out of fuel to burn; and it's manacling eyes, red with fury, devil like. It let out one more unintelligible roar as it threw himself at the two Greymon Megas. The two immediately jumped back from reflexes they had learned through the years of combat as the mysterious Digimon flew towards ShineGreymon, leaping like a mad man once it had missed its initial attack. It launched his claws again at ShineGreymon but this time being prepared, ShineGreymon raised his shield hand and used his burst energy to create his shield. With one swift movement, using his shield to block the unknown enemy, with his other hand, he slashed his newly generated sword, damaging the mysterious Digimon's body as it screamed in pain.

"What is that thing?" WarGreymon had asked as the two try to use their newly formed team work.

"Dunno, but it looks familiar." ShineGreymon managed to reply as he readied himself for more attacks from the beast like Digimon.

Again the Digimon let out a cry of fury, before, in a deep and beast like echo calling out his attack, "Dragon's Gust!" It flapped his four wings as gales of wind charged at the two Greymons. The wind was so fierce they had to use their shields to block it out, causing them to lose sight of the mysterious Digimon.

"Dragon's Roar!" The voice again echoed, as the beast appeared above them before shooting out double helix beams of energy at the two Mega Digimon. As he tried to regain his composure, ShineGreymon had remembered another Digimon that had see a similar attack: Dynasmon.

"That's Dynasmon! Or whatever remains of him!" He managed to warn WarGreymon before Dynasmon continued shooting his energy beam attacks at them.

"Then let's show him what happens when you attack us!" WarGreymon announced as he gathered a great amount of energy in his palms. "Gaia Force ZERO!"

ShineGreymon too gathered his concentration and launched his attack along with WarGreymon's. "Torrid WeiB!" Machine gun like balls of fire energy flew from his hand as it went straight for Dynasmon. Dynasmon again let out a beast like roar and with a flap of his wings, created multiple gale of tornado like wind at the attack, merely cutting through the attacks the two Mega Digimon had thrown at him and heading straight for them.

"Tensegrity Shield!" A blue shadow flew past them before erecting a shield to stop Dynasmon's wind attack. "Once again Zeromaru is here to save the day!"

"Don't get cocky just yet, here he comes again!" WarGreymon warned as Dynasmon once again gave a deafening roar before shooting more energy beams at them. It was becoming harder and harder for them to dodge, except for UlforceVeedramon who had just arrived; UlfroceVeedramon being the fastest amongst them, early dodged the attacks and at breakneck speed flew towards Dynasmon.

UlfroceVeedramon raised his one arm to attack, his bracer began to glow as an energy blade formed. "Ulforce Saber!" It cried before bringing down his blade to Dynasmon. However, Dynasmon was able to catch UlforceVeedramon's hand before the blade could hit, rendering the blue dragon knight helpless. "The Ray of Victory!" UlforceVeedramon unable to use his melee attacks with his arm caught, launched his most powerful attack to free himself. When the smoke cleared, the three Mega Digimon could see that Dynasmon was still unharmed aside from the slash he had received from ShineGreymon himself earlier on.

"What is this guy made of?" He pondered out, receiving no reply from the other two as they were concentrating on the battle on hand.

The body of Dynasmon became limp before the three opponents could feel the energy around them being sucked into Dynasmon's body. "Breath of Wyvern!" It called as an dragon formed from pure energy began to rise out of Dynasmon body like smoke before gaining speed and heading towards the three Mega Digimon.

"Tensegrity Shield!" "Brave Shield!" The two other Digimon called, raising their own shields before ShineGreymon too used his burst energy to create his flaming shield. Little did they know, it was no use as the attack was too strong for any one shield they had managed to erect and all three Digimon were blown back by Dynasmon's attack. ShineGreymon knew he was becoming weaker, even with the power of Burst Mode it was still no match for whatever enhancement Dynasmon had received. And he knew fully well the other two Mega Digimon were too tired and unlikely to survive for long. Dynasmon once again became limp and again they felt the energy around down began to drain as it was being sucked into Dynasmon.

"Sieg Saber!" "Wolf Claw!" A beam of light, lightning like flew past their position and onto the still charging Dynasmon, followed by criss crossing energy crescents as if they were shape left being from claws. Dynasmon cried in anguish as the attacks hit him, unprepared as he was charging for this attack.

"Are you guys alright?" Announced a Digimon very like Gallantmon, but his armour had changed and so too his shield. Hanging onto the newly arrived Gallantmon's leg was a blue wolf Digimon. ShineGreymon knew at once, the reinforcements Koushiro had mentioned were here.

"One more of his attacks and we would have been toast." WarGreymon declared. "Why don't we finish him off while he's down. Five to one odds, I like our chances." Dianamon was still busy dealing with her targets on the ground and ShineGreymon had figured there was no need to call her now.

"All right, lets finish this!" UlforceVeedramon smirked as he flew away from them, wanting to be the first to give the enemy Digimon a finishing blow. "Ulforce Saber!" He slashed at Dynasmon's body, causing him to roar like a wild beast.

Next came Gallantmon with WereGarurumon in tow. WereGarurumon was the first to hit as he leap from Gallantmon's shoulders and used his well armed legs to kick Dynasmon. "Garuru Kick!" "Royal Saber!" Followed WereGarurumon's attack, as Gallantmon's Gram lance pierced Dynasmon's body, leaving a hole in it's wake.

"Let's finish this!" WarGreymon's afterburner began to light up as he launched his body towards Dynasmon, not before spinning into a large horizontal tornado, "Great Tornado!" As WarGreymon flew past Dynasmon, ShineGreymon could see Dynasmon's body beginning to distort and become unstable, not before releasing another beast like roar in agony. ShineGreymon knew he would have to be the final blow. Gathering his burst energy, he flew towards Dynasmon before forming flaming swords in both hands.

"Corona Blaze Sword!" He cross slashed his swords at Dynasmon, resulting in the former Dragon Knight disappearing into hundreds of tiny little particles.

And all around them, it became once again calm as a ray of sun light flew from the dust and ash clouds that had gathered. All was well.


	62. Book 5 Interlude 2

**Book 5 The Unison War, Interlude: The Prince of Ming**

It all came away strange to him. Why would the Romans all of a sudden retreat when victory was only minutes from their gasp. All of the western state and it's capital Xi'an was not all that important to royal family of Ming - it was still a symbolic city where the first emperor of what was formally the Kingdom of Chin began his reign, it was not a valuable piece of land and they could afford to have lost it. However, if Romans had indeed won, morale would have dropped and it was why they had to defend the ancient city with all their might. Then, they packed up and left; this left him scratching his head.

He had returned to the capital of Beijing when his scouts assured him the Roman's had marched beyond their boarders with no visible intention of returning anytime soon. His brother had requested his presence, he had hoped it was something important as he would have other wised likened to return to the Eastern Palace; he was worried about the youngest member of their family and above all else, see the return stability of the his state.

He entered the Heavenly Palace, the home of the Emperor, to be greeted by his sister. It was not that he did not wish to see her, but she being the head of state for the Southern Province meant she had little time to be spending within the walls of the Heavenly Palace and more likely to be living in the Southern Palace or the Winter Palace as known within their little family. In fact, each of the four siblings had their own palaces, his little sister Li Xiaochun would have other wise be living in the Western Province but being too young to care for herself, she had opted to live with him; his older brother the Northern Palace but instead taken over their father's title as Emperor when it came time for him to retire. And himself, the Eastern Palace, the Summer Palace known within the family as they spent many of their summers at the large castle and only recently returning to it after the incident with the Demon Lord, Daimon Masaru.

His sister gave him a wide grin as he greeted her. This troubled time as his sister wasn't exactly known for her smile; her legendary beauty yes, but not her smile. It was then his sister lead him to the Earthly Hall, the throne room of the Heavenly Palace, where his brother sat looking regal as ever; and he too had a grin on his face which again made Li Jianliang uneasy.

"Greeting's brother, I take it the campaign was a success?" His brother's voice boomed, it had become the norm as the daily use to establish his authority made it the only way he knew how to speak.

"Yes Milord. The Roman's have been chased from our lands." He replied as he bowed to the Emperor. Even though they were brothers and the large room only contain themselves and their sister, Jianliang knew it was still protocol for him to respect the Emperor even though it was his brother.

"Good, Good. You may have been wondering why I have called you here brother. You see, I have been thinking. If I were to fall before I am to leave an heir, you will become the next in line to the throne. However, one cannot become the Heavenly Emperor without a bride by his side." His brother's voice was regal even without the presence of people to order around.

"What are you implying Your Majesty?" Now he knew he was in trouble. He had managed to avoid the topic of marriage up until now, after all he was only sixteen years of age; although some had considered that to be too late to be engaged and some considered the perfect age, but he did not want to be tied down so soon. Again his brother grinned and with a quick look to his sister, he found her smile even wider than before; this was very troubling.

"Bring them in." With a snap of his brother's fingers, the grand door to the Earthly Hall opened and in came five girls his age, dressed in expensive silk dresses of all colours marched in and lined in front of him, between his brother and himself, all facing him, all looked nervous but forcing an emotionless face.

"I took the liberty of gathering the finest our Kingdom has to offer. The first He Zijing." His brother pointed to the girl; she was taller than the others, her hair raven black hair split into two long pony tails that nearly reached the floor. "Next Yu Sizhao." The shortest girl of the group, her hair unbounded like the others and it too was long like the first but only reaching her waist. "And of course, you remember cousin Lou Lizhi." The girl in the middle was a cousin of his, only two months younger than himself, wearing a pale green silk gown, her hair done up into a bun. Her skin was darker than the others but still a perfect sample of beauty.

He looked towards the other two girls before his brother could introduce them; the first girl was of average height, her hair done up as if it were outlining flower petals, a popular trend in the capital for girls of nobility and the last girl was different from the rest. Again of average height, but her skin smooth and of the colour of fine porcelain, her hair chestnut instead of the raven black like the rest, short and with one ponytail sticking from the left, it gave her a playful look.

"Wang Yinghua and Katou Shujia, she of course is a gift from Lord Emishi for the trouble his son caused you last month. Each of these girls are the finest examples of nobility form each of the five states and all are gifts to you. Do with them as you please. Consume their flower when you become hungry and rid of them when you become bored. I only ask that one of these become your bride as you may keep all of them for your satisfaction, but one must bare you a child and you must marry her." His brother explained and he could already feel the headache that was pulsing.

"This is what you called be back to the capital for?" He held his fingers to his temple as he slowly massaged it.

"I would think my little brother would show some appreciation after I have gone through the trouble of gathering such fine specimens. I would happily take some off of your hands, of course after you have chosen which one you would like." His brother grinned. It ws one thing that he did not like about his brother; as emperor he had developed a taste for fine women and he would fine them half naked at every nook of the palace when ever he came to visit.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to his brother from the girls, "Have them be brought to the Summer Palace. At least Xiaochun would have some company when I am away." He left the Earthly Hall before anyone could object, he only wanted some piece and quite after what his siblings had put him through.

* * *

Notes:  
As you may have notice that there may be more grammer mistakes than usual, as I would always reread everything before I post - but I'm at the point were I just don't feel inspired anymore. It doesn't mean I'm done with this fic, actually the bulk of last few chapters will be uploaded soon enough. It just means that, I had planned a sequel (2 actually, 1 in Le Monde and the other in Taichi's world) but after 3 chapters into writing it, I just didn't feel inspired.

I am however, in the process of writing a short, 4 or 5 chapter Harry Potter fic after I got such good reviews for My Dinner with Daphne (go check it out if you're a Harry Potter fan).


	63. Book 5 Chapter 17

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 17: The Lord Captain**

He was glad Koushiro was on his side and it made sense, Koushiro was the opposite of himself and they made the perfect pair when it came to solving conflicts. He was rash and would jump into any battle at a moment's notice and Koushiro would have everything planned out, multiple scenarios for when a plan would go array; Taichi brought the muscles and Koushiro ws the brain, it was always the case. When they were part of the soccer club during their middle school days in Odaiba, Koushiro had been the team manager for a reason and he was the star player not because of his brains but for his skills. It was no different now, granted this was an entirely different Koushiro who had no prior history with Taichi up until he became a prisoner.

Yet there was one thing Taichi could not stand - whenever Koushiro was in his thinking mode and that was the amount of time it took the young man along time to come up with something, leading Taichi to fidget in his seat. They were currently all seated in the King's palace, of course with the current king, King Ken was located in Mount Royale for safety reasons, it had been made into a command centre for their current campaign just as the Tottenham Palace had been used before hand. All of the high ranking officers were seated as they were having their meeting to decide what their next course of action would be. Koushiro being the Lord Admiral was of course the leader, Yamato of Orange, the King's cousin was now considered the leading authority when it came to the Royal side of the alliance, relieving Taichi of that role. Of course Taichi's own entourage was on hand, Masaru and Rei were present in the room as too was Takato and Lily Crowle.

"Reports from our scouts are saying the Romans have retreated south and have made Saint Germain academy as their new stronghold." Koushiro started reading the report, giving details on what the scouts had seen and what they would expect if they were to attack them.

"Saint Germain?" Taichi questioned, his eyebrow raised at Koushiro.

"Yes, I can only gather that is has something to do with the Day of the Black sun. It's really strange, their forces have all but disappeared and have relocated in Saint Germain. I mean, reports have it that they are not even present at the lands they've recently conquered nor are there any signs of them in Roma either. It's like they've all disappeared except for Saint Germain." Koushiro showed his bewilderment. Taichi could not believe it, it felt like they were being lead into a trap but there was no escaping it; the Day of the Black Sun was only going to be visible in Saint Germain and it's surrounding areas, Taichi had to get them there if they were to ever return to their own world.

"Ironic isn't it?" This time it was Yamato of Orange who spoke up, his voice emotionless and regal, "Saint Germain, the place where it all started will be the place were we end this."

"I can't allow you to do that!" Taichi yelled on impulse. "Yggdrasil is our problem, I don't want any more bloodshed because of me."

"You don't understand do you Lord Captain." Again Yamato's cold voice, still void of any emotion, cruel almost. "So long as this Yggdrasil you are worry about is within Royal territory, then it is indeed our problem. If you continue to object, then I see no problem of relieving you of your post and jailing you for treason."

"Sorry Taichi but I'll have to agree with Lord Orange on this one." Koushiro replied.

"Please Lord Admiral there's no need to be formal, call me Yamato." Taichi was ignored and he felt his blood pressure rising from anger.

"Stop you guys! Don't you get it, Yggdrasil is a god! He can't beat stop that easily, so many people will die if they fight with us, I'm not even sure we'll get out of this alive ourselves. I can't allow you to get involved!" Taichi screamed, his face scrunched in anger. He did not understand why they were throwing away their lives but he would not allow them to do so if he could help it. There didn't need to be so much bloodshed and he knew it was up to himself to stop Yggdrasil.

"Taichi!" Koushiro yelled back, trying to calm him down from his rant. "It may not matter to you, but this world is not your's so you would not understand but it is our dry to free everyone from what you have told us to be Yggdrasil's plan. We can not allow Yggdrasil to enslave us all and therefore I cannot allow us to sit by idly."

"Not his world?" Yamato questioned.

"I'll explain later My Prince." Koushiro gave him a short reply before once again turning to Taichi. "There is little over three days before the Day of the black sun and we must be prepare to attack as soon as possible. Our forces will leave as soon as repairs are done and resupplied." Koushiro announced, Taichi was become more and more frustrated with them.

"You guys!" Taichi started but was cut off by Rei.

"Koushiro-san is right Taichi-kun. It's their world and they're free to do as they like, we have to prepare ourselves too. We don't know whether or not Yggdrasil has lied to us about the Day of the Black Sun and a way to get home but we still need to kick Yggdrasil's shinny data butt." Rei declared with Masaru nodding in agreement.

"Do as you want!" Taichi yelled before storming out, leaving everyone blinking in shock. It was Lily who was first to apologize for Taichi before she herself left to quackly find him, not knowing what kind of damage Taichi would cause to vent his frustration. She spotted him in one the Palace's many halls, looking out a window looking onto the city itself.

She tread lightly to stand beside him, he had calmed down and she could see it in his eyes he was confused. They stood in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"I use to hate this place, always trying to find a way home but now I don't even know what home is anymore." He sighed, eyes not leaving the city below. "I don't want to leave this place but I want to return back to my world just as much. I don't know what I want anymore Lily, and it's just so confusing."

"You don't belong here Taichi." She whispered, Taichi had thought he must have misheard before the girl continued, "Everyone back home must be worried sick about you. That's why you have to go back, no matter how painful it is, but I know you don't belong here and I know you'll be happier back with your friends. As long as you remain here, you will always feel apart of yourself missing."

Taichi smiled as her words and turned to her. "Thanks Lily…" He paused and exhaled, "For always being there for me." He reached up to play with her face, he could see she was blushing and for a second he lost himself in her eyes as both leaned into each other; it felt so right to him as if handcuffs had been lifted from his entire body. And for a moment, nothing mattered to the two but Taichi caught himself when a large commotion was heard beneath them in the Palace's courtyard. Both of them blushed at their non-kiss before hurrying to see what was going on.

They arrived at the Palace's front doors to see a large crowd forming at the gates of the Palace. Soldiers were gathered as a carriage made it's way into the courtyard. Taichi could see the masses hanging onto the gates and the iron fence which surrounded the Palace ground's as if they were trying to bring them down. He could hear chants of anger, "Kill the witch, kill the witch, kill the witch!" They were making a familiar gesture he recognized all to well, as the massive crowd were swinging a single arm each in rhythm, a gesture he had seen during his own soccer games. What was strange, was another part of the crowd had seemly appeared and to be opposing the first group, a entirely different chant could be heard.

"Free our queen, free our queen!" Was screamed towards the Palace over and over again, those who were in the middle of the two different groups quickly left knowing that a physical conflict would erupt if the two groups were to touch.

In Taichi's mind he already knew who was in the carriage but he did not want to believe. It was when the doors open and a figure was forced out by one of the soldiers did Taichi's nightmare become true. He could see Lily at the corner of his eye, where once she was calmly standing beside him, now stood a wide eye girl, her hands covering the shock from her open mouth. The figure's once beautiful chestnut perms were now frizzed and split, her once smooth face and pink lips dirty with mud, the same with her once expensive pink dress, torn as she was force to walk bare foot, dragged by a soldier up to where he stood. They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity before her face turned ugly at the sight of him.

"So I see you've turned another lady from a respectable family into your whore. How long before you rid of her before you return to that yellow girl or maybe a real whore this time like the one you gave Davis. How many is it now Taichi?" She said his name with venom before turning her attention to Lily.

"Has he entered you yet? Have you screamed his name in pleasure? If I knew he was so interested in little girls I would have happily given him to you at Madras. Tell me, does he nip at your small breast or are they too tiny for him. Maybe you should prey to Yggdrasil for them to grow bigger before he becomes bored with you." Taichi put a hand to block the two, trying to protect Lily from anymore abuse.

"That's enough Mimi! Lily has done nothing wrong." He replied back forcefully.

"Yes, poor little innocent Lily. So long as she keeps your bed warm you will protect her. And when she grows old and ugly, you'll find another to replace her." Mimi grinned, not before she received a hand to her dirtied face from Taichi.

"Guards! Bring her to my office, make sure she is restrained before she can hurt anyone or herself and get a doctor to check on her immediately! Do I make myself clear!" Taichi ordered.

"Yes MILORD!" The soldiers acknowledge before heading into the Palace with Mimi in tow.

"Oh? Do you already miss me screaming in pleasure? Replacing your little doll already?" Mimi's voice became muffled as she disappeared into the maze of the Palace halls. Taichi carefully embraced Lily to calm her down and once he made sure she was good and ready to return inside, he made his way to his office where he found a gagged Mimi with a doctor checking up on her wellbeing. She was struggling with her restraints, no doubt trying to free herself before they could confront one another.

"I hope everything is okay doctor." Taichi asked the doctor once he sure the doctor had finished his check up on her. The doctor nodded but looked restrained about something.

"Everything is fine milord, just a few cuts and bruises. But there is something else milord, that you should know about." The doctor replied as he backed his medical beg back up. "She is with child." The doctor declared to a surprised Taichi before leaving the room, leaving the two alone.

Taichi was quick to find a chair, struggling with what the doctor had just said. Millions of questions entered his head, the least of which was about Mimi and her possible child. The fear of being him who had caused her to be burden with a baby was high, after all, he couldn't count how many times they had fool around with each other. But the fact remained that they had not seen each other for the better part of a month and having found out she was going to be the Golden Lion's bride only filled his head with more questions. He sighed as he looked towards her, still struggling with her hands and feet roped and her mouth gaged. There was a part of him that was angry with her but he knew better than to hurt an innocent girl and his anger was more to do with his carelessness than her.

He got up from his chair to release her gage, at least now they could have a decent conversation. That was the plan before she started screaming like a mad women only for him to put his hand over her mouth out of reflex. She had continued to scream but tired out soon after realizing no one was coming to her rescue. Once he made sure she was calm, he unhanded her before seating himself across from her, their eyes focused on another.

"Who is he?" He simply asked.

"A better man than you!" She spat at him. He had once thought Yggdrasil's mind control powers was the cause of her leaving but he now knew she was brainwashed and there was little he could do to release her from Yggdrasil's grip.

"Why?" Taichi again asked.

"I needed someone to love me." She whispered as tears began to stream from her face.

"And do you love him?" He asked calmly as the girl continued to whimper under her tears.

"Yes, with all my heart." He nodded to say he understood. He once again stood before walking past her not daring to look at her tear stained face. He opened the doors to his office before calling one of his guards.

"Have the maids clean her and dress her properly. She is to be treated as a guest at all times, give her what she ask for but make sure there are guards stationed at the doors and windows at all times. She is not to be released or to be ill treated. If I hear of any of incidents, I will have your heard, is that understood?" He asked.

"Yes MILORD!" The soldiers replied. Taichi turned his attention back to her for one last time. He made sure he showed no emotions towards her as he faced her. He looked straight into his eyes as his heart skipped a beat. There was no doubt in his mind he still very much loved her and he still found her to be amazingly beautiful, but he knew he had no place in this world and therefore no place in her life. Whoever the Golden Lion was, Mimi had fallen in love with him and Taichi knew nothing he could do to change that.

"Good bye Lady Mimi L'Alsace." He said one final time before leaving, disappearing into the Palace halls.

* * *

Note:  
This chapter shows my amateurism with plot devices. How do I resolve conflicts? Run away from it full speed!


	64. Book 5 Chapter 18

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 18: The Green Eyed Monster**

She did not know when it had started but she was done denying it. In the stretch of a few months, she had come to realize she had indeed developed a school yard crush on the one person she considered the most insufferable person she had ever met. Yes, she was googled eyed for Davis of Liverpool, someone who she had first disliked but after being constantly with the boy, she had slowly, although she did not know how, come to see the boy in a new light. But this was wrong, she knew it was wrong but she could not give in no matter how hard she had tried. She tried hiding it, she tried denying it, and she tried hating herself for it, but nothing had work and now she was at the end of her rope.

For one, she had promised herself to another boy; the boy himself had better status than Davis and the boy was very much in love with her but she had fallen out of love with him. She knew it was wrong but she also wanted to follow her heart yet she was so confused. Not only did she know betraying Takeru was wrong but she knew any relationship with Davis was also wrong as he was already marrying his beloved Ami Katagime. But to b e far, this Ami girl she knew to be a previous whore who her brother had picked up and therefore in her mind this Ami girl was not fit for Davis and it gave her the right to fight against Ami.

She didn't know when or how she, dare she say it, fell in _love_ with Davis. Maybe it was because she had hated him from the beginning and the saying was that enemies often become lovers - she had once read a story based on two feuding families in the Republic. She had hated him because he had seemingly replaced her in her brother's eye as his sibling. Hikari had tried to reason that Taichi was not really her dead brother but it still hurt to see someone so close to her forget her and replace her. So she started to hate him.

She knew it was unreasonable to hate someone she did not take the chance to know better but the irrational side of her had taken over and she could not see Davis of Liverpool of anything but someone who took her brother away. Along the way, Davis had substituted the cause of Taichi's death and somehow she blamed Davis for her brother's death. She knew it made no sense but it was the only way for her to deal with it. Her mind had become blinded by hate whenever she was with Davis, rational thoughts were gone. At first she had merely ignored him, especially when he had tried to openly flirt with her, not knowing the situation with her and Takeru. She had thought by rejecting the boy so openly, his heart would break and he would feel the same pain as she did. Yet it didn't work, nothing had seemed to phase him, Davis would just get right back up and continue to flirt with her and she would continue to ignore him hoping he would sooner or later become heart broken; and when it did dock in Madras for a month, he had still flirted with her but Saint George Academy became his new hunting ground before Taichi had put a stop to it.

When she knew she couldn't end with her breaking his heart, she become friendly towards him, finally managing to give the time of day, hoping to find a weakness. And when she did become friendly with him, he just stopped. Stopped trying to flirt with her, it was almost as if it were a game to him and he had thrown her aside once he knew he won and it infuriated her to no end; all the more reason for her to break him - she had thought at first. Of course he would acknowledge her, simple hellos and conversation would take place but his flirty nature was gone, he had never once after tried to suggest they bed each other. At the time, she had thought some school girl from Saint George Academy had caught his attention, she had tried questioning her brother for the identity of such a girl but he would just make an excuse that Davis was much too busy with the ship's repairs and the day to day operations. She knew it to be a lie and maybe, just maybe that was when she began falling for the boy.

It was combination of things in her mind; she wanted Davis to acknowledge her, she wanted Davis to play his game with her again, the need she wanted was for someone to pay attention to her, to make her feel as if she was the only one. She had felt jealous at what her fake brother and Mimi had, it was what she wanted from a boy. It was what Takeru had given her at first and maybe it was why she wanted to marry him even though they were still so young. Then he left for war and when he returned, he did not pay the same attention to her as he did before leaving for the war. Sure they still spent the majority of their time together when they had been in Saint Germain before leaving to visit her brother but never once did she feel as though all of Takeru's attention was on her. Perhaps it was the thrill of knowing she could control a boy with just saying a single word to them.

The second factor must have been Davis' personality. Davis had taken so much like her brother, both her dead brother and his counterpart from another world. It was a common saying that one falls in love with someone who is most like a family members you love most and her brother was her someone she admired and having lost him once was devastating. It was almost as if she did not want to lose Davis because she had already lost her brother, almost as if she felt that if she lost Davis, she would have failed to save her brother a second time. And maybe, just maybe, just like her fake brother had replaced her with Davis, she was replacing her brother with Davis too.

Finally in her mind, it had to be power. Status wise, Takeru was much more powerful than Davis, after all Takeru himself a prince from a small principality. And Davis? A simple nobleman from a city in the northwest of the Empire's homeland. She had heard about Liverpool, simple village town during the medieval era that had grown into thriving port city in current days but that was nothing compare to an entire country. Yet, Davis had a powerful Digimon, a Digimon could hold its own against Mega level Digimon. His Digimon was unique really, no one had an idea what level or rank it was since Davis had been the first ever to summon a Digimon of it's kind. There was a special book in their world known as the Digidex, a book said to have been written since the days of the first Digimon summons - containing details and levels of each Digimon ever summoned. Yet the book had no mention of a golden armoured Digimon called Magnamon but Davis had told her once scholars had guessed Magnamon was a champion from what they could tell by height and such. She had asked her Taichi about it too and he merely laughed mumbled, "Is there even a rank for armour Digimon?" Of course she was confused by what her brother said, so she merely assumed the scholars to be right.

It was then everything changed. Mimi had drifted from Taichi and at some point Hikari guessed her brother too fell out of lover with Mimi and replaced her with that Crowle girl. She knew deep inside herself she did not believe it to be true, that her brother even though from another world, would never betray those he loved most, especially Mimi. Takeru and herself at some point did not feel the need to be together as much, with himself being recalled by King Ken - who was merely prince at that time - back to the homeland to defend it against the Romans. Hikari herself had decided to stay with her brother and more importantly Davis than deciding to go back with Takeru.

Mimi along the way became disillusioned by her brother and from what Taichi had told her of what had happened on that day, Mimi had become influenced by the god Yggdrasil. She did not believe her brother at first, claiming his problems on a god and not taking responsibility for what he had dragged Mimi through with that silly Crowle girl. At the same time, her brother had found Davis a washer girl who had been a whore. She could not have believed it at first and she was not worry either, but when Davis had first looked at the Ami girl, she knew his heart was taken away by the devil girl. It was as if her brother was out to ruin her life and so she vowed to not speak with Taichi for what he had done.

She knew she could not stay mad at Taichi forever but that had all changed when Davis began to worry about her relationship with her brother. So in the end she prolonged her vow of silence against Taichi only so that she could have Davis waiting around her fingertips. She knew it was a selfish thing to do but anything to have Davis spend more time with her and less time with that washer whore was worth her while.

And then her brother had to go ruin everything behind her back. She had taken a leave to Mount Royale, playing the part of a good future wife to the Prince of Orange to check on her faithful husband. What did her brother do without her there? Announce to the world that Davis of Liverpool was to be marrying a princess from the Kingdom of Ming as a practical joke! Only he was laughing and she was heart broken. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought that little whore girl had blackmailed Davis into marriage or perhaps used an oriental magic potion, who knew what her people were capable of. In fact, all those scenarios would have been better, at least than she could rid Davis of Ami but when Davis agreed to this stupid joke, all her hopes had gone out the window.

The final kicker was that girl had to go and summon a Digimon of all things! Everyone knew only those of noble blood could summon a Digimon, so her summoning meant that she was to be the first commoner to have summoned a Digimon or a girl from a noble family that had fallen out of grace as her Fresh-level Digimon had proved - oddly the Digidex indeed did have pages on Digimon lower than rookies to her surprise. Everyone had believed the later, that Ami was indeed a princess of Ming, just unlucky to summon such a low level Digimon but Hikari knew the truth. The damned girl did indeed become the first commoner to summon a Digimon.

It was then she had enough of the whole thing. She had come to Saint Brebeuf in order to show everyone what a fraud Ami was but she wanted to show everyone fair and square. Yet she could not and so she was pushed to the point of no return, causing her to do what she did not want to regret later on in her life. With a deep breath as she sat on the sofa, she laid her tea cup down onto the table, looking straight into the eyes of the woman she had come to meet.

"There is something I've come to tell you Lady Liverpool." Hikari declared to the elder lady sitting across from her on another chair.

"What is it my dear?" She asked kindly, enough so that Hikari was having second thoughts.

"It's about Lady Ami. There is something you should know. Ami is really…" Hikari could see Lady Liverpool staring intensely at her, anticipating what Hikari might say about her future daughter-in-law. _Am I such a monster that I would betray the ones I love just for a boy?_


	65. Book 5 Chapter 19

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 19: Saint Germain Academy for Nobility**

In her over two hundred years of existence had she ever seen a day like this. Her halls were full of foreign soldiers who spoke a language who she did not know. In her inner most room laid a god who had the power to control those around him but this god was also foreign like the soldiers who fought for her. To the north she could sense a storm coming, the sky was black not with rainclouds but with flying machines. And it would not be raindrops to fall from the sky but the canons from both her grounds and the skies that would be raining down. She knew she would not escape, that after the day was done, not a single brick of her would remain. She looked to the skies and preyed she would not be forgotten in the history books and to know that Saint Germain Academy was once the finest school around for noble children.

And when the clock struck noon, she felt the first of many canon shells hit her walls. The end was beginning.

As the chaos around her consumed everything she once held dear, deep beneath her lied two entities, one human and the other a god. The human, covered in golden armour and a golden mask, his identity only known to his companion beside him. The god, his physically body merely a translucent sphere but his power, greater than anything within this world. While the earth shook, they stood calmly, knowing that they had already won this battle.

"I see that they are complete." The one in gold stated at his god. Three separate lights came forth from Yggdrasil, lighting up the small room they occupied until the lights finally died down to reveal three large creatures.

"Yes, complete at last." Although the god did not have a physical body, he was indeed smiling a wide grin as he looked upon the creatures he had created with his powers. "Three perfect Diginomes, three pieces of myself. They are my evangelions, my messengers of paradise, they are me." The three creatures merely looked on without any emotions towards their creator; the first was a large black knight with a fluttering blue mantle. The second was the biggest of the three, the Golden Lion himself wondered how his god was able to fit such a creature in such a small room; it was a red dragon, with gigantic wings that spread from one end of the room to the other. And finally the final creature, a white knight, particular that it had two different creatures, one an orange dragon and the other a blue wolf in place of his arms.

"Quite fierce looking aren't they?" The Golden Lion mocked, jealous that Yggdrasil did not give him the chance to finish their enemies himself.

"Quiet my servant! These are perfect copies of my most loyal of knights. Perfect copies of their data but without minds of their own, I have injected my own mind into them, they are me and I am them. Alphamon The Holy Knight, Examon The Emperor Knight, and Omegamon, The First Knight. They will protect me as I gather my strength to execute the End_of_the_World program. Of course, I shall leave Yagami Taichi to you." Yggdrasil stated as it retreated his sphere back to the ground as it had ran out of energy to continue floating.

The Golden Lion grinned, he had been looking forward to a fight with the famous Terror of Death since their last encounter. He was going to show Yagami Taichi who really was the real one and who was merely a fake. Taichi de Basse Normandie, The Rebirth, The Golden Lion, wanted nothing less.

"Go now my knights, show them the true power of Yggdrasil NEO!"

Above them in the skies, flashes of explosions happened everywhere one dared to look. Airships burning in the skies, the ground once lush with grass and forested hills now blacken with fire, and all across the skies, flashes of Digimon flying by at supersonic speeds. One such Digimon was ShineGreymon, his wings ablaze and his fiery shield protecting ships approaching behind him, Masaru having set his Burst Mode already. Three other Digimon flew in front of him, cutting down any canon shells that were fired at them. With quick slashes of their blades, WarGreymon X, UlfroceVeedramon, and Dianamon made easy work of the black chromedigizoid flying at them. On the ground, WereGarurumon lead the charge against the Roman foot soldiers, along with Gallantmon X and MegaKabuterimon as back up. Although a great number of the Alliance's airships had been sunk, the Romans had already lost most of their forces in a matter of minutes, victory would be realized any moment.

On board the HMAS Reliant, Yagami Taichi pondered why the Golden Lion had not shown himself yet, even with his forces nearly wiped out. They had expected some resistance from the mysterious Roman leader but this was quickly turning into a massacre favouring themselves. Although Taichi felt sick every time he was forced into battle, killing humans was not something was had grown attached too but Koushiro had assured him there was no way they knew of to reverse Yggdrasil's mind control over them.

On the ground, WereGarurumon took out another set of canons laid before him as they were quickly approaching the walls of Saint Germain Academy. He launched another one of his "Wolf Claws" at the canons before they exploded in an fiery display and all around them the ground burnt. As WereGarurumon was admiring his work, he failed to noticed a gigantic shadow above him - all those around, too failed to notice the new enemy which had appeared virtually from no where.

"Avalon's Gate!" Was all WereGarurumon could hear before he felt a sharp jab into his back. An large explosion followed before he screamed in agony. Next thing anyone else knew, WereGarurumon disappeared into a million fragments of light they knew all too well. On board the HIMAS Tristan, Prince Yamato of Orange felt a great pain corse through him as a feeling of dread entered his body. Yamato did not know what had happened but he knew he could not fail his people and continued his duties on board the airship.

Gallantmon looked up at where WereGarurumon had once stood, instead in the sky flew a Digimon he had never seen before. A Digimon with an enormous set of wings, scaled like a lizard and armoured at it's frame; a large gun lance replaced one of it's hands, a long tail even longer then its own body wiped below it, and it's face, fierce like a dragon.

"State who you are Sir Knight." Gallantmon calmly asked, reading his shield for when the enemy decided to attack.

"Examon, The Dragon Emperor Knight, Yggdrasil's most loyal servant." Examon stated, looking blankly at Gallantmon.

"Servant of Yggdrasil you say? Then let us dual Sir Knight!" Gallantmon announced before both knights readied their lance and charged at each other.

Above in the skies ShineGreymon continued to have his shield burn brightly as canon fire continued to pelt him. Having experience from his previous battles in London and Central, ShineGreymon did not feel the strain he once did. As he was concentrating on the shelling before him, he was rocked awake when from behind him, four thirty gun ships, including the HMAS Noble had their hauls explode one by one in sequence. ShineGreymon did not know how they had been sunk, he had been pretty sure his shield held even though he had become lax. It was then he noticed a spinning blade flying towards him from his right and in the last moment was able to deflect the blade with his shield.

ShineGreymon's eyes followed the blade before it landed in an outstretched hand, covered in black and gold trimmed armour. The winds blew as ShineGerymon noticed the newcomer's cape waving in the wind, the new Digimon was indeed regal looking. ShineGreymon turned his attention to the new Digimon, ignoring the canon shells as it flew by him.

"I am Alphamon, The Greatest of Knights, Yggdrasil's most loyal servant." The black armoured Digimon claimed.

"Another Royal Knight huh? I'll show you why Aniki and I are called knight slayers!" ShineGerymon replied as his wings began to flare up.

"Corona Blaze Sword!" "Seiken Grandalpha!" The two Digimon flew at each other with their swords drawn.

To the north of ShineGreymon and Alphamon, UlforceVeedramon found his path blocked by a familiar opponent. The white knight Digimon flew hovered in front of UlforceVeedramon himself felt a ping of fear, it's white armour body and cap flew behind him, both his Garuru and Grey arms folded as if he was expecting UlforceVeedramon for some time now.

"Omegamon." UlforceVeedramon stated simply.

"Indeed, it is I, Omegamon. The First of Knights, Yggdrasil's most loyal servant." Omegamon declared as it unfolded his arms. "Prepare yourself Overwrite Knight!" Omegamon then unsheathed his Grey Sword as it released from the mouth of it's Grey arm. Omegamon flew at UlforceVeedramon in a blur but the blue armoured Digimon caught it just in time.

"Transcendent Sword!" "Ulforce Saber!" UlforceVeedramon had been able to summon forth his blade from his bracelets in just in time to catch Omegamon's sword. As the two blades crossed, a shockwave of air leapt from their position and had spread all over as the air became dense.

On board the HMAS Reliant, Yagami Taichi rushed to the top deck as his WarGreymon had just landed to take a breath before once again taking to the skies. Lady Lily Crowle's Dianamon had fallowed suit as both Digimon met their partners on the top deck of the Reliant.

"Good job out there you two." Taichi praised, Lily followed behind him with a smile. As much as war was a frightening experience, Lily had tried best she could to put a smile on for everyone. She did not want them to worry about her in the middle of a battle and she had tried to help with whatever she could with instead of being a burden to them all.

"Thanks Taichi." WarGreymon replied. "Any news of that wannabe Greymon?"

"No signs yet." Taichi sighed. It was strange that the Golden Lion would gather all his forces in one spot and not show up himself. Was he giving up already or did Yggdrasil have a trap lay out for them. The wind from behind WarGreymon picked up before a figured appeared hovering right beside the Relient.

"Wannabe?" The orange armoured Digimon asked as it balanced his large claymore on one shoulder. Taichi's eye went wide fearing that he would not have time to react before footsteps could be heard approaching them, from Taichi's left, the front of the ship. Taichi's eyes went from being wide in shock to a sharp stare at the figure that was walking towards them.

"How?" Taichi asked the figure in Gold.

"Anything is possible with Lord Yggdrasil's power." The Golden Lion grinned. "Now Yagami, we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. The moon is set to block out the sun in an hours time, you can either be on your way home, I do hope you have brought the Metal Dragon with you. Or you can try and fail at stoping Lord Yggdrasil." The Metal Dragon or better known as the Zero Fighter had been placed on the Reliant ever since the day they had found it. They did not know why, but it was the key to opening a gate home according to Sora of Windsor's father.

Anger was building inside Taichi, in front of him stood the man that had caused everything to go wrong. The man that stole Mimi, the man that robbed the home he had come to known, and the man who betrayed the world to Yggdrasil. And now he stood in front of him, mocking him and for once Taichi could not take the abuse any longer. Without any thought, he instinctually reached for his pistol which he had loaded before hand and fired at the Golden Lion, hoping to finally put a stop to the man. Lily had put her hands to her mouth in an attempt to hide her shock as the man she had a crush on did something she thought he would never do; shot a man.

Yet Taichi was not a good shot and instead of hitting the man's head like he intended to, merely grazed the man's face but enough so that it hit his golden ask as it shattered and fell down. WareGreymon, Dianamon, Lily, and himself, all of their eyes went wide and they turned white when they saw the face of the Golden Lion. Staring back at Taichi was…himself.

The other Taichi grinned, it reflected off his golden armour, "You should know by now Yagami. Did you really think Mimi would leave you for someone else? Of course not, but she left you for someone even better then yourself. Yagami, let me introduce myself. The true Taichi, Taichi de Basse Normandie, Lord of Normandie, fifty-seventh to the Royal Crown, and the Emperor of Roma."

"How is this possible, you're dead!" Taichi screamed back.

"You better than anyone should know that I, no, we defy the impossible. Now come Yagami, let us end this!" The Golden Lion grinned once more, with the click of his fingers, VictoryGreymon flew to him and the other Taichi was able to grab hold of him, flying on his Digimon as they made for the ground. Taichi had tried to follow but running out of room at the side of the airship, only able to stare at his doppleganger decent towards the forested ground.

"WarGreymon let's go!" Taichi yelled for his Digimon, as he too rode his Digimon and followed the Golden Lion. Seconds later he was joined by Dianamon with Liliy in her arms as they flew closer and closer to the Golden Knight and his Digimon. The landed in a clearing, the trees around them already red and yellow due to autumn. It was almost a surreal picture, both Taichi stood by their Digimon, both looking every much like the other. Both Digimon had their blades ready, if Lily had been any further away, she would have had a hard time telling who was who. Lily held her Digivice close as she too wanted to help Taichi against the mysterious man who looked like him standing across from them.

Taichi had raised his arm to push her back and with a shake of his head, she understood that Taichi did not want her to fight his fight. Dianamon too understood what Taichi had done and stepped back to allow room for the two dinosaur Digimon duel.

"How amusing. To think you would leave Mimi for this little kitty. I do not blame you, she is exquisite and I would have her myself once I am done with you Yagami." The other Taichi mocked, sending a blink to Lily trying to get her attention on him.

"I would never abandon Mimi you bastard!" Taichi replied angrily, his grip on his Digivice increasing as if he was trying to break it.

"Temper, Temper, Yagami." The other Taichi again mocked, before calling for his Digimon. "VictoryGreymon, walk all over him."

"Yes Master." VictoryGreymon nodded towards the other Taichi before launching himself from where he stood and appearing next to WarGreymon. "Dramon Breaker!" His three bladed claymore came down upon WarGreymon only to have the other Mega Digimon block in time with his Dramon Killer claws crossed. Seeing that his attack had no apparent effect, VictoryGreymon leapt backwards to where the other Taichi stood, at the same time readying his next attack.

"Dramon Breaker!" "Dramon Killer!" Both Greymon leapt towards one another, the end resulting in VictoryGreymon's Dramon Breaker sword wedged between WarGreymon's Dramon Killer claws.

"VictoryGreymon, this is no time for games. Finish him." The Taichi in the golden armour yelled towards his Digimon.

"Of course Master." VictoryGreymon calmly replied before throwing WarGreymon off of him and with one swift movement, leapt again at the reeling WarGreymon. "Dramon Breaker!"

"Brave Shield!" WarGreymon called at the last minute, an energy shield formed around his bracer, catching VictoryGreymon's sword. "Heh" WarGreymon laughed before throwing his free arm at VictoryGreymon, hoping to catch him off guard.

"Victory Shield!" VictoryGreymon's spare arm too formed an energy shield with his bracer. The two Digimon pushed at each other with their blades until both leapt backwards to where they had started, back beside their human partners. Knowing that he had to try something else than parrying with his opponent, WarGreymon aimed his claws at VictoryGreymon.

"Grey Fire ZERO!" Like a flamethrower, a large burst of fire flew forward at his enemies but VictoryGreymon was already ready for such an attack. Holding his sword at a ready position, with the hilt pointed to his opponent and his blade behind him, his spare hand resting flat on his sword blade.

"Victory Charge!" With one horizontal swing of his sword, as if it created a giant wind, WarGreymon's fireball turned backwards like a baseball being batted back towards the pitcher. WarGreymon had barely anytime to prepare himself and was hit by his own attack, while the attack was large enough to engulf him, the fire that did not hit him continued on to where Taichi and Lily stood. Taichi embraced Lily and tried to block the attack with his body in the way. Fearing it would hurt, he was surprise to find nothing had hit him or Lily. Looking up see could see Dianamon blocking the attack with her crescent swords.

"Tch, how touching. And to think, Dianamon, you were once so loyal to Yggdrasil, ready to kill a human at any moment." Again the other Taichi taunted. "No matter, I rather not have my war prize to be burnt, I like them fresh." He licked his lips.

"Dramon Breaker!" "Dramon Killer!" Again both Digimon launched themselves at one another before, again having their blades caught by the other. It was that point it became a shoving match, both Digimon flexed their arms, VictoryGreymon pushed his body weight onto his sword and WarGreymon using all his might into his one arm that had caught the sword by his claws. "Gaaaaaahhhhhhh!" both Digimon yelled as they used all their might to push hard against the other.

It was not a surprise when a crack was heard, fallowed by a blade shattering. Taichi looked wide eyed in shock, as the other Taichi grinned a dark grin, it was WarGreymon's Dramon Killer claws that had shattered, leaving the Mega Digimon with only his left arm still useable as a weapon. Again the two Digimon parried before jumping back to their original spots.

"This bores me, VictoryGreymon. Finish him, NOW!" The other Taichi ordered.

"WarGreymon, we can beat him, I know we can. Everyone is counting on us!" Taichi cried.

"Dramon Breaker!" "Dramon Killer!" This time WarGreymon used his afterburners to gain more speed as the two Digimon neared each other. With a loud shockwave, the two Digimon crossed blades once again, this, for the final time.

Elsewhere on her hallowed grounds, stood the Knight of Knights staring down the Dragon Emperor Knight, both with their lances ready to strike once again. Holding his Aegis shield in front of him to protect his body, he readied his Gram lance as it turned a brilliant light of blue.

"Sieg Saber!" "Dragonic Impact!" Both Digimon charged at one another with their lances in front of them. Gallantmon's Gram glowed a brilliant blue energy while Examon's Ambrosius glowered a fiery red from the friction of the air around it. Gallantmon was able to catch Examon's Ambrosius with his Aegis, saving him from any harm Examon could deal to him. On the other hand, Gallantmon's Gram too was blocked from causing any damage to Examon has left armoured wing had folded in front of Examon, acting as his own shield.

With a flick his Aegis, Gallantmon deflected Examon's static Ambrosius before withdrawing Gram from Examon's wings, jumping backwards to gain space for another attack.

"Royal Saber!" Gram once again lit up with a brilliant blue before a strong lightning like lance flew straight at Examon. Gallantmon could see Examon smirk as the attack neared him.

"Pendragon's Glory!" Examon aimed his Ambrosius lance straight at Gallantmon's attack, before a sharp thread like laser fired from Ambrosius as it flew into Gallantmon's attack, splitting Gallantmon's lightning as the laser flew through it, before finally exploding when it reached the source of Gallantmon's attack, Gram.

Gallantmon tried to gathered himself from the explosion. When the smoke cleared, he had lost sight of Examon. Looking all over he could not see his enemy before feeling a sharp pain between his chest. Examon had struck with his Ambrosius as he dug deep into Gallantmon.

The skies above Gallantmon and Examon became lit with explosions. A single shot by Omegamon's Garuru Cannon caused a dozen explosions, as it's target flew as fast as he could to out run these explosions or being hit by Omegamon's attack. UlforceVeedramon knew that he could not defeat Omegamon with himself alone, he had seen what Omegamon could do the summer when Armageddemon had decided to attack. With an effortless flap of his wing, he once again easily dodged Omegamon's cannon attack.

UlforceVeedramon's attack plan was simple, strike and run, strike and run, as he knew he was no match power wise against the leader of the Royal Knights. He flew at his enemy at speed, knowing Omegamon could not keep up with him.

"Ulforce Saber!" The Overwrite Knight summoned his saber from his V-Bracelets as he prepared to strike Omegamon. However, he was caught off guard when Omegamon spotted him and parried UlforceVeedramon's blade with his own sword, causing him to go unbalanced. This allowed time for Omegamon to aim his Garuru Cannon at UlforceVeedramon.

Not far from them, swords crossed as a shockwave resulted. The two Digimon continue to cross their blades, a flurry of attacks by both Digimon; one at the ability to manipulate fire as his sword, whip like whenever he swung his fiery sword and the other, the black knight Digimon had a giant of a sword, easily used as a shield when needed.

"Corona Blaze Sword!" ShineGreymon cried as he summoned a sword in each hand, his wings flared with flames as he flew at Alphamon. Crossing his two swords into an X, ShineGreymon struck Alphamon only to have his attack blocked by Alphamon's Seiken Grandalpha. Seeing that his attack had no effect on the Black Knight, ShineGreymon retreated and concentrated on his next attack. "Torrid WeiB!" ShineGreymon launched hundreds of flaming shells at Alphamon, once again to be merely swept away by Alphamon as if they were tiny bugs annoying him.

"We are the loyalest of loyal knights. You cannot fathom our true power. Prepare yourselves enemies of Yggdrasil." All three knight Digimon announced individually to their opponent Digimon.

"Digitalize of Soul!" "Avalon's Gate!" "Supreme Cannon!" Three explosions simultaneously set off before all was quite on Saint Germain's once happy grounds.


	66. Book 5 Chapter 20

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 20: The Once and Future Hero**

"Dramon Breaker, Trident Mode!" With one swift movement VictoryGreymon's three bladed claymore split it's blades into a trident and attached itself to his bracer, acting as a claw. It was now down to which of the two mega level Greymons wanted the victory more, both having only one claw equipped and both with one shield, this was a battle of experience.

"Dramon Breaker!" "Dramon Killer!" Both Digimon called before charging and having their blades intertwined with one another. Their free hand brought up and it too was intertwined as the two Digimon continued to push against each other. With both their hands confined, the only option was for the two Digimon to head butt one another, a battle of will.

"Come on WarGreymon." Taichi with whisper, sweet rolling down his cheek in anticipation. He could see his other self not too far from his position, they were indeed alike, he could see that. Taichi wanted to know what was going through that person's head, was it the same thing that was going through his; after all they were the same person. He'd just have to prove his bond with his Digimon was greater than his opponent's, it was what had gotten him through so much. He never once doubt his Digimon, not when they were against Devimon, not even when he was scared of transforming Greymon into SkullGreymon again, not against Myotismon, not against the Dark Masters, never once against Apocalymon, not against Diaboromon, not against BlackWarGreymon, and not against Armageddemon. He knew to believe in his Digimon, so he did the one thing he knew how to do - believe WarGreymon could overcome his counterpart.

The two Digimon separated, both huffing heavily as they were at their limits. Both Taichi's knew that this was the final chance they would have to finish the other. Both held onto their Digivices tightly, Yagami Taichi to his vibrating orange hexagonal device and Taichi de Basse Normandie to his orange and gold Digivice iC.

"WarGreymon!" "VictoryGreymon!" Both yelled, "Let's finish this!"

WarGreymon's afterburners began to glow orange as hot particles began pouring out of them, VictoryGreymon's too felt the wind pick up from behind him as if it were guiding him, and with one great leap from the leaf covered ground, both Digimon flew at each other.

"Dramon Killer!" "Dramon Breaker!" Both Digimon threw their claw hand in front of them, trying to catch each other in a weak spot. The two hit each other, both bouncing off as they came to a stop, back against each other. The wind around them parted, blowing both Taichi, Lily and the Golden Lion to their knees. Both Digimon did not move, waiting for the other to fall first. Moments later, WarGreymon felt a sharp pain in his chest as he knelt to one knee.

"No!" Taichi tried to scream but it came out breathless. He could not believe his Digimon had lost, he did not want to believe they had lost, he wanted it to be all a dream. He could see his other self grinning with the thrill of victory.

"Raaaaaaaa!" VictoryGreymon screamed in pain, awaking both Taichi's from their thoughts. Before they could react, the familiar light of a summoning circle surrounded VictoryGreymon. VictoryGreymon began to glow a golden light and as soon as it began, the light dispersed into a million fragments or particles before they were wisp into the other Taichi's Digivice iC, leaving only a sleeping Agumon where VictoryGreymon once stood. The Golden Lion felt a sharp pain in his hand before dropping his Digivice which he had received from Yggdrasil, it shattered into as it hit the forest ground, evaporating into sky like fireflies.

"EXEC_with:Method_End_of_the_World!" A song like voice spoke, it felt to Taichi as it was coming from everywhere, he could not pinpoint the exact location.

The Golden Lion dropped to his knees as he started to laugh cruelly, "It looks like your victory was in vain Yagami. Yggdrasil can not be stopped now." Taichi merely gave his counterpart a frown before running into the forest with Lily in hand, both their Digimon took to the skies as they knew they only had one chance to stop Yggdrasil, leaving the Golden Lion, alone with his exhausted Digimon.

"Avalon's Gate!" Gallantmon felt a sharp pain before he realized he was thrown back, finding himself in a wall of rubble that was once part of Saint Germain Academy. He was on the edge of blacking out, before he heard the song like voice. What happened next left him confused, Examon flew upwards to the sky without finishing him.

"Supreme Cannon!" UlforceVeedramon was left breathless as the attack knocked the wind out of him, breathing became hard as he fell. Before he hit the ground he found himself back in his rookie form. He had not felt this weak in a long time, usually preferring to stay in his Veedramon form rather than Veemon, but he had to count himself lucky he had not been deleted.

Omegamon was not even looking at him, instead looking at the sky towards the sun. Veemon could already see the moon approaching, before Omegamon flew towards the sun as the voice of the goddess rang out.

"Digitalize of Soul!" ShineGreymon felt pain throughout his entire body as he was pelted with Alphamon's attack. He could barely hold on as he felt himself revert back to Agumon. Alphamon stared at him blankly before jumping in flight, towards the quarter covered sun.

WarGreymon nearly at his limit, saw in the distance three Digimon he did not recognize. Fearing the worst for this allies, he quickly looked towards the ground trying to find anyone that was injured. He spotted Gallantmon X edged in a crumbling wall which once belong to Saint Germain, his eyes half open and his armour twisted and broken. Not to far from the white knight Digimon, only yards away WarGreymon spotted another of his allies, small blue Digimon he knew all too well. He gave a signal to Dianamon who was traveling behind him, tell her to pick up Veemon while he attended to Gallantmon.

With one hand over his shoulder, WarGreymon decided it was best to bring the two Digimon back on board, the Tristan being the most logical place. Taichi and Lily had at that point caught up with them, both shocked to see what had happened with their friend's Digimon. Each human rode along their respective Digimon as they arrived on the top deck of the HIMAS Tristan. At the same time, Koushiro's MegaKabuterimon had too arrived back on board, in his hands, Masaru's Agumon, who was having a hard time staying awake. Koushiro followed by Masaru, Takato, and Yamato arrived to greet them only to be taken back at the damage their Digimon had suffered.

"Where's WereGarurumon?" Yamato was the first to ask, clearly worried about the whereabouts of his Digimon.

"I'm sorry." Was all Gallantmon could get out before collapsing. At that point Yamato knew exactly what had happened, his stomach began to churn as he felt himself go numb. His Digimon was gone, along with any status it had brought along to him; Yamato knew the risks of war but he had never thought in a million years his own Digimon could fall victim.

"We have bigger things to worry about!" Taichi quickly countered. He did not know what it was like to lose a Digimon, but they did not have time to morn Yamato's lost. "Looks like Yggdrasil is finally starting his grand plan. We have to stop him before he completes it." The sun was already half blocked.

"Our Digimon are weak from their battle. Damn it! We need to do something and do something now!" Masaru punched his fist into his palm, an overcast look on his darkened face.

"WarGreymon still has some energy left and Dianamon hasn't seen much action yet." Taichi declared as he looked towards Lily for conformation. With a nod, Taichi knew Lily and Dianamon were ready to fight. The moon had covered most of the sun now and with one look towards the sky, the habitants of the HIMAS Tristan could make out the outlines of the three Digimon that had defeated them. The Black Knight Digimon howvered to the left, his blue mantle waving in the wind. To his right stood the Digimon Taichi knew well, Omegamon hovered on the same level as Alphamon, his cape too flapping in the wind. Between them and below them, as if they were forming a triangle, stood the Dragon Emperor Knight, his massive wings spread full across.

And then they say it, a translucent sphere of glass, invisible if it were not for the remaining sun's rays shining onto it. It was clear to everyone that this was Yggdrasil, just as Dianamon had explained it to them.

"All hands! Ship to ninety degrees port, thirty degrees ascend." Koushiro yelled back to the bridge of the ship, the only conformation of the orders received was when the ship began flying straight at the three Digimon and it's so called god.

"WarGreymon!" "Dianamon!" Their respective partners called before the two Digimon took to the skies, ahead of the ship.

"I would not try such dangerous tactics if I were you my little Terror of Death." Once again the song like voice called out. The voice was peaceful and smoothing but at the same time, each of them felt a pang of fear. "After all, I am the only one who can take you back to your world." Yggdrasil's spherical body began to glow before a circle of Digital Code surrounded it, with lines of scripture interconnecting the three Digimon on Yggdrasil's side.

WarGreymon and Dianamon continued to fly towards Yggdrasil, followed by the Tristan closely behind. Yet, all of a sudden, WarGreymon and Dianamon found themselves hovering instead of flying at full speed, an invisible force gripping on their body, bounding them in their place.

"I warned you did I not?" The voice again sang. "You have a choice to make my little avatars. You can choose to stay in this world and be controlled by myself or," Yggdrasil began to glow once more, before they heard a loud bang from below them, seeing the HMAS Reliant hovering stationary below them, having a hole ripped in its haul before an invisible finger waved for their cargo to be flown up to where Yggdrasil was. The Zero fighter plane that they had brought now found it's way to Yggdrasil.

It began to pulse for all to see, electricity began to make it glow, and it's instruments and gages that had not functioned in over fifty years began to work as normal. It hovered beneath the Examon's empty shell of a body as the sun was now fully covered by the moon, the day turned to darkness.

"EXEC: GATE_Sol;Terra=Nova_re3." Yggdrasil sang, "Or you can choose to go back. You have only ten minutes to decide before the eclipse finishes and the gate closes. Choose wisely." Where the sun and moon once stood was now replaced by a giant circular mirror large enough to cover both celestial bodies. Within it brought Taichi and the rest who were not of this world's eyes open. Like a spy mirror, they could see on to the other side, a fantastical image of crowded streets with cars and people. The sky was filled with large buildings they all recognized. This images was of their home, the real world, Tokyo, Odaiba district. Then the image shifted, Taichi and Rei realized it was their school, images of people they recognized and so too did their dopplegangers.

Koushiro was shocked to see himself, a green jacket similar to his military dress, his fingers working away at a machine he had never seen before. Yamato saw himself too in the same green jacket but undone, sitting lazily on the rooftop of the building, in his hands he recognized as some kind of bread; next to him stood a red head girl he knew to be Sora of Windsor, wearing green like the rest of them sitting beside himself and smiling at the boy next to her. Then the image turned again and the inhabitants of the world saw a girl with chestnut hair they all knew, she sat in a large room with many gathered within it, two girls which they did not know were talking with her but her mind seemed to wonder elsewhere.

Taichi was fighting with himself. He wanted so bad in these last three years to find a way home but now he had to decide where to save the world once again or leave in the hands of an insane supercomputer who had decided it was a god. He knew what he wanted but he also knew what he needed to do. Looking at Rei and Masaru for them to weigh in, he merely received smiles and nods from them, wordlessly telling him they also agreed with him. "Sorry Yggdrasil, but we can't let you have your way. WarGreymon, Dianamon!"

WarGreymon and Dianamon both pushed themselves against what grip the invisible force did have on them, to free themselves. Once again they charged towards Yggdrasil.

"You truly are a fool after all Yagami Taichi. Very well, you have already served your purpose long ago, your existence is to be terminated." Yggdrasil replied back angrily but the voice still very refined. "EXEC: ATK_Omega=All_Delete!"

An invisible force once again hit both WarGreymon and Dianamon before they found themselves hammered into the deck of the Tristan, their human partners looking on in shock. WarGreymon was first to recover but when the smoke and debris cleared from their impact with the ship, he found himself in his rookie form. Dianamon was in considerably better shape and recovered well enough to attack once again.

"Goodnight Moon!" Dianamon kicked her legs in the directing of Yggdrasil, the momentum causing her to do a back flip. The result was two crescent shape like energy blades flying towards Yggdrasil.

"EXEC: ATK_Exa=Avalon!" The two energy blades merely disintegrated as it neared Yggdrasil and once again an unseen force sent Dianamon back to the haul of the Tristen, this time waking up to find herself as Lunamon and not her Mega goddess form.

Taichi cringed inside. Without much of an effort, Yggdrasil had disposed of them with a wave of her hand. They were running out of options, all of their Digimon were in no state to fight any further. Taichi once again gripped his Digivice hard, to the point where his palm was turning a bright red. More sweet rolled down his cheeks, he could taste the saltiness of it while his gums started to hurt from his teeth being crunched together with such pressure. For once in his life, Taichi could not see any more options but he knew he could not give up.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=92%_COMPLETE! This is the last chance Digidestined. Soon this world will be under my control and the gates to your's will close." Yggdrasil announced. There was still the chance for them to escape back home without harm but the thought of just simply forgetting everyone and everything in this world was revolting. He remembered back when he and Agumon were trapped in the Real World after defeating Etomon, feeling so helpless as to not being able to rescue his friends. Taichi had swore he never wanted to feel something like that ever again and yet that feeling of helplessness was the only thing he could feel.

"Taichi-san." Masaru spoke up, Taichi could see that he was emotionally drained from his Digimon taking such a beating. "It's not over yet!"

"PROG: End_of_the_World=95%_COMPLETE!"

"That's right Taichi. We didn't give up so easily against MeloMyotismon. We can still fight as long as the hearts of everyone is with us." This time it was Rei who spoke up.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=96%_COMPLETE!"

"Taichi, you never once gave up on me even though we were enemies. You selflessly saved my life and from that point on I never doubted your character. Our world owes you a lot." Koushiro had put a hand on Taichi's shoulder, it was oddly comforting.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=97%_COMPLETE!"

"Lord Taichi, you and Lady Mimi took care of me when I had no where else to turn. I will always be in debt to you, I can not allow the world to end before I return my debt." Takato had a hand on his Digimon's damaged body and he could see Gallantmon and indeed the rest of the Digimon looking at him intently.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=98%_COMPLETE!"

"Taichi, you've helped so many of us. You will always be a hero no matter what the outcome." Lily smiled, she had her hands around her Digivice, praying hard for a miracle. All of a sudden her Digivice iC began to glow, not the cool blue colour Lily had become accustomed to whenever she Digivolved Lunamon but an bright, captivating orange flame.

Masaru's Digivice too began to glow an orange colour, followed by Rei's hexagon Digivice; instead of her deep blue colour of her Digimon's Mega form's armour, it too was orange. All four of them began to inspect their Digivice and to their surprise, they found an odd symbol of the sun on each of their Digivice's screens.

"What the heck is this?" Masaru asked in a frustrated tone.

"The Crest of Courage!" Rei answered in surprise. At that moment Taichi's Digivice too began to glow the awesome hue of orange he was so familiar with. Yet, instead of vibrating like it usually would during an evolution sequence, it instead of became covered in flames Taichi had seen Masaru create so often.

"Digisoul?" They all asked confusingly.

"Taichi, I feel so strange. Like a fire is burning in my stomach." They were all shook awake from gathering close to Taichi's outstretched hand that they had noticed Agumon approaching.

"I think the Kami is giving us one last shot." Masaru stated with his arms folded. Taichi agreed, it certainly was a miracle, nothing short of such. He was sure to remind himself to visit a temple once everything was over. "Well let's roll with what we got!" Masaru announced.

"Yea." Taichi nodded before turning to his Digimon. "You ready for this buddy?" "Of course."

"Go! Digisoul Burst!" Both yelled at the top of their lungs, "Agumon BURST MODE!" Agumon's body was surrounded by a brilliant orange flame, pulsing with power and warmth they all felt.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=99%_COMPLETE!"

Agumon leapt from Tristan's deck, and with his new found power, flew towards Yggdrasil's spherical body.

"You are fools to defy me. EXEC: ATK_Alpha=inForce!" Agumon felt sharp pain but recovered without much trouble. He continued to fly, until he past the unmoving body of Examon. He appeared in front of Yggdrasil's body, Agumon could see his reflection in the translucent body of the god.

"Baby Flame!" With all the power he could muster, he shot a giant fireball at the glass orb that contained Yggdrasil.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=100%….." Yggdrasil's song like voice started before being cut off, her body cracking into dozen of pieces as a result of being hit by Agumon's attack. Behind him, the moon began to move away from the sun as the first rays of light reached down to the land below. The mirror that was once the gate back to their own world was closed as it too shattered into tiny pieces, evaporating to the skies above.

Agumon touched down on board the Tristan to be met with everyone trying to pat him with a job well done. The other Digimon were awake now, after having time to recover from their wounds. They too began to congratulate the small orange dinosaur.

"PROG: End_of_the_World=100%_Complete; Reset_Sequence=Overwrite_Activate." Yggdrasil's voice once again sang out. Everyone's attention once again the Digimon god, what remained of his spherical body began to glow, before itself and the three Digimon she had created disappeared behind a bright light, blinded in part by the sun being full uncovered now.

"EXEC: Reset_Sequence=AURA." Yggdrasil's voice sang out one last time. As they all recovered from the blinding light that had surrounded Yggdrasil's body, they were surprised to find a girl in place where Yggdrasil had just been. Her skin pure, her hair white as snow, a white dress covered her entire body. There was a warmth to be felt as she smiled upon them.

"I am Yggdrasil_AURA. I have reset myself to my original programming. Do not worry Children of Morganna, I have erased all my memories and hatred of humans, I have reset myself to my original programming; to be the protector of the Digital World."

"How do we know this isn't some lie like last time?" Masaru spoke up. His demands was met with a warm smile from Yggdrasil that seemed to calm everyone as they were still on edge.

"Lying is not part of my programming. The old Yggdrasil must have developed such code when she began interacting with humans. Do not worry, I have already set everything in order. I shall return back to the Digital World, once again to watch over it's inhabitants. Before I depart, there is one thing that I must set straight. EXEC: GATE_Sol;Terra=Nova_re3." The mirror into their own world once again appeared behind Yggdrasil's body. "You're world awaits." Yggdrasil gave way for the three humans to enter her newly created portal.

"So I guess this is good bye then?" Koushiro asked the three, their faces overcast, not knowing how to feel. They were going back home, something they looked forward to for so long but they had wanted to say good bye to everyone. They knew they could not do so and the gate soon would close one more, along with Yggdrasil.

It was a silent affair, hand shakes with another another before the three prepared to depart. Since they were part of the military, they did not have many possessions except for the cloth on their back. The three were lined at the starboard side of the ship, turning to face their friends. With a signal to Yggdrasil, their bodies along with their Digimon began to float towards Yggdrasil; first Masaru, followed by Rei. Before Taichi could turn and be on his way home, he was grabbed by his jacket's collar and spun around to find the teary face of Lady Lily Crowle. Without knowing what hit him next, Lily brought her lips up to his before their kiss ended as Taichi began to float, dumb faced and all.

Without looking back, fearing it was too painful, the three entered the portal before they were blinded by a white light.

* * *

Notes:  
Dropping the final chapter and the epilogue before tomorrow's episode which promises to be the most epic Digimon episode to date. I know a lot of you will be unsatisfied with the ending but I didn't have any clue on just how to end this - and at the time I was all excited about writing a sequel that I didn't really give the ending a thought.

Yggdrasil's attacks are based on Song Magic from the video game series Ar Tonelico and Yggdrasil_AURA is inspired by the dotHack series. Interesting enough, all three are Bandai properties.

Epilogue and preview of what was going to be the sequel after the break.


	67. Book 5 Chapter 21

**Book 5 The Unison War, Chapter 21: Epilogue**

_March 11, Year 5 of New Era, Formally Year 1764 of our Lord Yggdrasil_:

It was the kind of town where everyone knew each other and on the other hand not enough of each other. Then again, he had never had the reason to hide before and this was the perfect place to hide yourself if you did not want the world to know you existed. The town folk had been helpful and he was able to gather enough information from those who had loose lips in the face of a few cups of alcohol. His search had paid off and he had been indeed correct to suspect the one he was after did indeed live in this town. Although where he lived still involved a two hour trek into a snow covered forested mountain.

Having spent most of his life by the sea side of the Republic, he was not used to this weather and he lacked the correct gear for such a journey, only fuelled by the desire for payment. He was wearing a wolf skin pelt cloak he had bartered from a trader and it did keep him warm, but having it over his normal cloak did weigh him down by quite a bit.

He soon spotted a house through the tick forest, with the help of rising smoke coming from the exact same house. He wade through the snow as quietly as possible from his years of training and hide amongst the bushes as he observed the house. It was a small house, not too small but comfortable for a family to live in and self sustain themselves for the most part. He hid himself on one side of a windowless wall after making sure he could not be seen by the family inside.

The door bursted open and he could hear foot steps step into the snow. Without a moment's notice, he lifted himself onto the roof the two story cabin with ease. He was out of sight and he continue to observe whoever had came out into the snow.

It was a child no older than five followed by an taller figure who he could only guess was the child's father. Both were covered in long and heavy fur coats that protected them from the harsh winds of the snowy mountain. The two made their way only a short distance from the entrance of their home before stopping at a pile of split wood covered in snow. The man freed two piece of half round logs and giving them to the child.

"Be a good boy and bring this inside for mommy okay. Daddy still has some more work to do. And no more fighting with your baby sister, she's still only two. Your a big boy now." The boy nodded silently before struggling to hold the two piece of logs which were clearly too large for his small body. But the boy having grown in this condition soon made his way inside and once again his attention turned to the main standing by the logs, surprised to find him unmoving.

"You can come out now Assassino." The man shouted at his direction, his eyes focused on him even as he was facing his side. Takuya merely jumped from the roof to land perfectly in front of the man.

"Your boy?" Takuya asked casually.

"Yes. Turns five in two months time." The man replied smiling fondly towards the cabin. Takuya turned to the cabin to see through the window a beautiful women by a fire place, a toddler at her feet and the boy placing the wood he had just gathered into the fire place with the help of his mother. "I assume you have come here for one reason." The man stated calmly.

"For the wrong reason. I had intended to kill you but it is not what Izumi would have wanted." Then he started to laugh. "They were right, these woods do make oneself go crazy."

"Then what are you here for Assassino?" The man turned away from him and started to once again gather more logs to bring inside.

"For closure my friend." He announced before quickly running to the woods and disappearing from the man's sight. Takuya knew he was away from Venice long enough and with the city and the Republic rebuilding, there were more and more corrupt officials that required his attention than a single family living in the forested mountains of the Swiss.

**O O O**

_June 5, Year 5 of New Era, Formally Year 1764 of our Lord Yggdrasil_:

He never knew why people found it fashionable to wear frills and such and it annoyed him to no end he had to somehow put one on everything there was an important party to be held. If it weren't for the two most controlling woman in his life, he would happily join the garden party in his everyday shirt; even his old green jacket from his army days would have been better, although that would cause quite with the party goers as they were some of the most uptight people he knew.

Of course these were the same people who had always preached about blood purity and what not but bent their knees the moment they found out he, the infamous Lord of the Liverpool house was going to marry some commoner. Of course his mother was furious when she found out, for the life of him he didn't know how, but she was the not the least upset with Ami, only himself. Ami it had seemed, melted his mothers ice cold heart and by some miracle, his own mother loved Ami more than himself. His sister was no different, she took an immediate liking to the Ming girl, despite her past. They had made it known publicly, it was the right thing to do but they did leave the little detail about her pervious occupation, merely saying she was a poor girl who's father had given her up to Davis so that she could earn some money. Never once did people ever question where this father of hers was now or how she was getting the money she earned back to him, they just all came to love Ami that no one wanted to dirty her. It was some accomplishment he had to admit.

Davis had always hated these parties his mother and Ami would put together, the two always had some scheme to further the status of Liverpool house. This time was no different, Ami was once again with child and his mother had found it the need to put on a big party just to rub in the faces of her card playing acquaintances that she was going to receive another healthy grandchild. He was very different from his mother and Ami for that, he loved the quietness their little manor gave them, giving him free time to spend with his children. On the other hand, his mother and Ami both loved to socialize, both had to be the star of the show whenever there was a party to be had, even when they were guests. He blamed his mothers influences that had made Ami this way but he loved her still, just as he loved her when he first set eyes on her.

Having finished putting on his shirt and party jacket, he looked himself over for an inspection. He was indeed dressed at the height of what was today's fashion; the most expensive money could buy at the insistence of Ami and of the most outlandish colours he would ever had thought of wearing in public. A knock was at his door, he assumed it was his wife coming to gather him so that she could show him off to her friends of nobility. Ami didn't have many friends, most were only acquaintances she managed to gather as she climbed the social ladder but she did have some, less pure of blood friends she had made and maintained during her time at Saint Brebeuf. He shouted a quick "come'in" at the shut door while still making the last of his adjustment so that he could get better freedom of movement in his get-up.

"Looking quite sharp second-mate Davis!" A voice laughed, the figure of was leaning onto the frame of the now open doorway.

"Oh," Davis realized. "It's only you Koushiro. Back so soon from your audience with His Majesty?" Davis asked, seeing as everything was perfect, turned to his old friend.

"Just last minute preparations, he wanted me to go over my planned course with the Royal Scientific Society. They had suggested I dock at New Wales before sailing west for my expedition." Koushiro explained as he waited for his old friend to finish with his cufflinks.

Davis, finally with everything in order stepped out of his dressing room with Koushiro by his side as they walked down his massive hall leading them to this equally grand backyard. This allowed them some time to catch up before entering the loud gardens that a hundred of the Liverpool's closes associates were currently located.

"I hear that Lily will also be joining you on this expedition." Davis asked. It had been years since he had talked to her in person and although Ami was friends with the Crowle girl, they were not close enough that Davis saw her much.

"It would do her some good to step out of that study of her's. I could only imagine what it was like to spend upwards of ten hours each day stuck in there reading those books of her's and having to help her sister in teaching the material to the students. I thought it would be a good relief for her to step out for a year." Koushiro replied as he and Davis matched stride for stride down the hall.

"Are you sure you're not doing this just so you can secretly court the girl?" Davis grinned evilly, cupping his chin with his hand and eyeing Koushiro. He could see Koushiro blush but he had hoped his friend's reaction would be more intense.

"Davis, you and I know she's still deeply in love with Taichi. She knows she'll never see him again but she still holds on to the possibility that there is a chance. And who knows what Taichi has been up to since returning to his world." Koushiro sighed as they closed in no the large french doors which would lead them outside to the gardens.

"All the more reason for you to be there to support her." Again Davis gave his grin to his old friend.

"Enough of this, let's just enjoy the night." Koushiro once again sported his composed face before opening the door, the noise and lights from the gardens hit them.

"Easy enough for you to say. You don't have to deal with three children and your overly clingy wife." Davis mumbled before following his friend out onto the garden.

**O O O**

_September 12, 2005 Anno Domini_:

"The vote for motion 7 as brought on by the delegation from Japan is 189 for, 4 against. It is my great pleasure in announcing the formation of the Digital Accident Tactics Squad. Motion Passed." The room filled with clapping as the speaker announced the passing of the motion. All around him his colleges started to congratulate him, patting his back and wanting to shake his hand. After all, he was the youngest United Nation's delegate ever to pass a new motion on his first try.

"We now move on to motion 8 as brought on by the delegation from the European Union for the establishment of Earth's first solar elevator. Members please vote via your clicker once you have gone through the documents you have been provided." He tuned everything out as he picked up his clicker to make the vote. He was too distracted to vote correctly, opting to pass the vote onto another member of the Japanese delegation. This was the calumniation of five years of work, two of which was during high school before spending all his time working as an university student in Todai's political science department.

He was young, only a year out of full time university, but he was the world's leading expert when it came to the digital world. Of course he would never tell anyone his secrete and only one other person had known. Everyone else, including his friends had thought the Digital World as being just that, another world that existed due to human evolution of technology but he and his fellow Japanese diplomate knew about it's secretes; what really went on underneath everything. Of course, they both feared that people would not take well to knowing there was a supercomputer capable of world domination if she so chooses too; with himself thrusted so far along in his career thanks to his unique relationship with the god.

"The vote for motion 8 is 193 for, 1 against. Motion passed, Project Ar Tonelico is approved by the UN General Assembly. That is all for today." The speaker of the house once motioned for the doors as the security guards began opening the doors leading out of the large room. He began gathering his documents, picking up whatever he was still required to go through before their next meeting tomorrow morning; although he had other plans already and was afraid that he would barely get started that night if everything were to go as planned, but hardly anything does.

"Congrats Yagami!" A female voice called as she gave him a big slap on the back. He turned to meet his fellow delegate and fellow classmate in the political science department.

"It's not like we weren't expecting it, after all it was Masaru-san who mentioned it being in existence during his time." He replied as he gathered the final documents he needed as he finished putting everything away in his traveling bag. "Anyways Rei, don't you have a plane to catch?"

"Nope, flight was rescheduled for tomorrow morning. Going to hit the town with some of the girls from England. What about you Mister Hotshot, don't want to be keeping that fiancee of yours waiting, not with her mood swings." Rei exclaimed with a big smile.

"Don't remind me." Taichi sighed.

"Well it is your fault for knocking her up!" This time Rei had her tongue out cutely like a child joking around with her friend. Again she was met by a sigh.

They made their way through the building and out the door in silence. He knew something was bothering Rei, her face was overcast and she looked to be deep in thought. She had agreed to share a cab with him as they lived in the same apartment complex, all of their Japanese colleges had rented apartments within a mile of each other so that they would be near one another if anything should happen when they were in this foreign city They waited in line, dozens of other delegates standing before them and after, all waiting to catch a taxi home.

"Hey." Rei tugged on him, "Today is the day isn't it?"

"Yeah. Five years huh? It feels like an eternity away. I hope everyone is doing well." His mind shift to everyone they had left behind. He hoped that everything would return to normal for them in that world and he often asked Yggdrasil whenever he was in the Digital World if she knew anything. He would only ever received vague answers from the girl, but she had always told him they were fine and there was no need to worry. Then he remembered to ask about Masaru, he had assumed Yggdrasil had sent him back to his time but what worried him was Yggdrasil's answer when he last asked.

_"Daimon Masaru is indeed in the future, however not the future he remembers. It seems he has found his way to yet another new world, one that exists between the Real World and the Digital World."_ She would leave it that and made sure they moved to a different topic when he tried to ask for more information.

"Yeah. I sort of miss them all." She whispered sadly, "But I'm sure everyone is doing a-okay. Though I'm sure one girl misses you a lot." She was again in her happy mode before giving him a wink.

"Jesus Rei, don't ever let Mimi know. She'll have my head if she ever found out what we went through and especially not of Lily." They had found themselves back to in their sixteen year old bodies when they had returned, only having a day passed. Yggdrasil had explained to them that time flowed faster and slower from world to world, they were just lucky to have been in one that flowed extremely fast compared to the Real World.

They ended up at their apartment complex minutes later, only a short distance from the United Nation's General Assembly Building. Waving good bye to each other, Rei would otherwise had come over for dinner as she once made an excuse of loving her cooking too much but he knew she lack any sense of taste or cooking skills of her own and that she was going out with her girl friends. The apartment which he shared with Mimi was on the lower floors of the tall building, only on the fifth floor as his pay did not allow him the luxury of a penthouse suite, even with Mimi's modest income; New York was just too much of an expensive city for a couple only a year out of university to afford.

He entered his home to have his nose filled with a sweet scent, although he did not recognize what it was, it was indeed calming. He could hear music softly playing as the noise of something sizzling on a pan informed him Mimi was indeed in the kitchen experimenting. Over the years, Mimi had become what she always wanted, a celebrity; but instead of a fashion model or an idol like they all thought she would become, she had instead become a celebrity chef. He was thankful it had turn that way, the thought of other people ogling at her half naked body if she had indeed gone the way of a model did not sit well with him.

"Tadaima." He announced as he replaced his well waxed shoes for a pair of slippers.

"Okaeri." Mimi's voice sang, "I'm in the kitchen." He found her soon enough, wearing a white blouse and matching faded green dress skirt and her hair still done as she always had from a shoot; no doubt she had just returned from taping a new episode of her cooking show. "Guess what Taichi! Davis just called to say he'll be in town next week. He wants to expand into North America and he wants my help in promoting it. What do you think, Davis' Noodle Carts, as designed by Celebrity Chef Mimi Yagami!" He could see that she had stars in her eyes, her new found fame getting the best of her and he could only smile to her.

"Mimi honey, what are you cooking?" He could see the pan was glowing bright orange and from his experiences the last few days, he knew a pregnant Mimi was on par with his mother's cooking, no matter how good of a chef she was before he had knocked her up.

"Smells good right? It's a new recipe, Salmon with Orange Sherbet." She grinned. He sighed, all was right.

**O O O**

_November 28, 2011 Anno Domini_:

His eyes was blinded from the white light, all he could hear was the ticking of a clock, back and forth, back and forth. He remembered that only moments before, he had entered a portal which Yggdrasil had promised to lead him home. However, knowing Yggdrasil as he did, he still did not fulling trust her and he was sure this was some kind of catch for once again defeating her. The clock continued to tick, his eyes slowly recovering from the intense light.

He found himself in a small room, it looked to be some kind of work shop; a jeweller or a clock smith perhaps. Tools were laid out on a table, oddly enough the room itself was big enough so that who ever was the owner had decorated with some potted plants and large ones at that. Agumon was beside him, he could see that he too was regaining his eye sight. He looked around to find the source of the ticking sounding, it was driving him nuts.

"You okay Agumon?" He asked.

"Just fine Aniki."

"Chi, chi, chi, chiii." Something was laughing at him, again he could not tell what.

"Welcome Daimon Masaru! We've been expecting you." An elderly voice called out and soon he came face to face with someone who looked like a homeless man. Masaru did not know where the man had came from, just mysteriously appearing right in front of him, nearly giving him a heart attack. The man had somewhat reminded him of Commander-General Yushima Hiroshi as they both had a air of mystery when they had first met.

"Where am I?" He was surprised he didn't resort to his usual attack first ask questions later tactic.

"Why simply, you are in the Game, Daimon Masaru. Welcome to the DigiQuartz!" The old man announced. Masaru was trying to make sense of what was going on. He had been promised to be returned back to his own world but somehow he was here, a place called the DigiQuartz. He reminded himself to have ShineGreymon fully burn the god next time they came across one another.

"Hey old man, what's the DigiQuartz…" He looked up to find the man gone and shop once again emptied. Shrugging, he exited the workshop with Agumon in tow, the alleyway where the shop had been was dark he did not find anything particular until the alleyway gave way to the main street. Where ever he was, it had almost been a weird carbon copy of the Real World, except for the odd colours and what seem to be moss growing every where.

"I'll say this once more Yuu. Give me Cutemon!" His thoughts interrupted by a girl's voice. Looking towards Agumon, they both nodded as they rushed to the source.

They reached a clearing, hiding themselves so that they could not be seen. A blond haired girl was standing on one side, with her, a giant pink stuffed teddy bear. On the other side, a boy with a pink bunny from what he could tell, under his arms and a yellow, _gnome_? His mind went to overdrive, there was no doubt these were Digimon and there was no doubt this boy in front of him had kidnapped the girl's pink bunny Digimon.

"Oi! Didn't your mom ever teach you it's wrong to steal from a defenceless girl?" At that point he made his presence known to them.

"What?" Before the boy could answer, Masaru had already jumped at his Digimon and punched it, leaving the two human spectators wide mouthed. Masaru only grinned as his hand once again lit up in its familiar orange glow.

* * *

Notes:  
Masaru's epilogue was written months before Digimon Hunter's reveal that the old hero's would be back, so please don't message me about it. Some idiot once did just such a thing on my Nene story, which was posted a week before it was revealed she was in Hong Kong - I guess the reviewer guy had a big ego to make up for what he lacked down under.

Now on to news about sequels. The first one, which was going to be called Tales of Le Monde is only 1 chapter in and I don't know when I'm going to find time to write more. The plot was originally going to explore the past history of Le Monde as main characters travelled to the still unexplored content of South America. It was also going to be about the Zero ARMS weapons - and that's all I'm going to say about the plot.

The second sequel, which is a short story that will be posted to Anthologies of Le Monde (some day), will explore Taichi's summer in the real world - one year after he returns. Good news is that it's 9000 words in, bad news is that it's only a third done - so hopefully it'll be around 20k plus words.

Final note, is anyone interested in a free epub or pdf version of Chronicles of Le Monde? I'm planning on having the entire story reedited (msg if you want to edit it), then distribute it as an epub.

Please review - both this chapter and the story as a whole. Praise or Criticism, but just don't post because you want to show of your Digimon knowledge. I'm sure there's some game show out there you can enter for that very purpose, just not reviews.

Complete preview of Tales of Le Monde Chapter 1 (incomplete and unedited) after the line break

* * *

**Tales of Le Monde, Chapter 1: The Slum God**

The streets were dirty - not full of filth and waste but of beggars lying at every which dark corner his eyes could see and he had no doubt that more lied hidden within the ally ways. It was also unusually dark, there wasn't a cloud in sight and it had just turned to dusk but the city had become famous for it's pollution and a history of violence on it's streets. That was why he had been the only person walking the streets this night - no sane person would have done so in fear that they would be robbed or worst, mugged and killed. His other sense went into overdrive as to compensate for the lack of light, his ears could hear the barking of dogs echoing throughout the streets and his nose picking up feint smells of rotting meat.

It made it worst knowing this was the dangerous part of the city - the most dangerous in fact, where the criminals came to prey on the poor and where the poor came to find opium to forget about their tragic lives. With his sharp senses, he could already tell more than one eye was watching him from the shadows.

He had heard of a new gang of criminals that had recently gained power in the city - a ruthless bunch of cohorts people had said, stories of their brutality as they slowly rid themselves of any other opposition. If he was any other person, he would have stayed in his house - a house he had recently come to buy after shortly arriving in the city - but he was not any other person. He had years of training and experience, he doubt anyone in this city could lay a finger on his person but it was still wise to stay cautious.

After all, it wasn't everyday that the Grand Meister of the Assassin's Guild, Takuya da Capulet visited a new city. And in this case, it was even more rare for him to have left the Old World to come to this bleak city in the New World, but it was an important mission he had. The Assassin's Guild had been losing members in recent years, a combination of too much peace and failure of certain missions left them with minimal numbers. He too had been recently retired because of his old age - his body could no longer take the strain of climbing buildings and traversing on rooftops. No, his time was better use for recruiting new members and that was exactly why he was here.

A lot had changed in the fifty years since the Unison War - a war that was bloody and pointless, all because people were easily fooled by their belief of gods. And as the name implied, it was a war were the superpowers of the world came together to fight a common enemy and once that enemy was no longer a threat, they saw the benefits of not fighting amongst themselves - in a short amount of time the world went from a place of boarders to one without any. Indeed, nations came together, formed alliances, and forced others into the very alliances. Royal France, The Empire of Britain, The Republic of Italia his own country, and even The Kingdom of Ming all became a single entity - gone were the ruling power of the royal families of each nation and replaced with a greater rule by the populations. Of course the royal families still existed but they were simply symbols of a time gone by.

This city was no different, once a small fishing town belonging to the Colony of Albany that was part of the Thirteen Colonies of the New World owned by The Empire of Britain, it now was transformed to an city of industry, of iron forging. Gone was the small town of New Amsterdam and replaced by the industrial city of Manhattan, now part of a new country called United - a country that was to be a shining star of the world, a place where anyone from anywhere could make a life for themselves. Many were captivated by the hopefulness that they otherwise did not have back in the Old World.

Yet those dreams of making it rich in the New World soon became just that, dreams. The rich and powerful still existed in this new land, mainly those who were nobles from the Old World that had moved to the New World during the Unison War - the most powerful of which were the Liverpool's, Manchester's, and Crowle's, all families of noble heroes who fought in the Unison War and all who were still very much loyal to the royal family of The Empire of Britain, the Tottenham's. People still lived in poverty and people still went hungry, there was civil unrest in the New World, something that did not exist in the Old World - and this was exactly why he was here seeking new members for his order.

Amongst the criminals, deep within the bawl of the poor, there was bound to be those who were innocent, those who were noble, and those ready to fight for ones in need. He had come to Manhattan in particular because of an rumour he had heard while living in retirement in his city of Venice. Manhattan's Slums had an unusual past time, underground Digimon Fights where humans who had Digimon Partners fought amongst each other, the winner often made a large sum of money from those who were in attendance and from betting - even the rich would come watch. Digimon were a common thing now, once only belonging to those of noble blood, it had become something anyone with the will to summon one did - it was more uncommon for one not to have a Digimon - Digimon did not age and if they had not died in battle, would be passed on from father to son.

It was exactly why someone who participated in these Digimon Fights would be the perfect candidate for the Assassin's Guild. The only problem was trying to find the location of where these fights were being held but lucky for him, there were more than one person he could "ask" and such opportunities were about to present themselves.

From the shadows a man came forth, following behind him until he was in arm reach away from him as he slowly walked down the barren street.

"Don't Move!" The man whispered. He could see the knife the man was now holding in his right hand, pointing straight at him, "You look like one of those rich folk. Hand over your money and no body will get hurt."

"Oh and what if chose the latter?"

"The latter?"

Clearly the man was not a smart one and already Takuya had ticked him off of the list of potential candidates - Assassins were required to think on their feet and this man was simply too dumb, a simple petty thief.

Although in his old days he would have been wearing his armour - an crimson set of armour made from the remains of his long dead Digimon KaiserGreymon. However, he was still an Assassin after all and his experience would be more than enough to deal with some ape such as this one but he still had his trump card - his bracer, it too was made from the remains of his Digimon and his Hidden Blades, the iconic weapon all Assassins had.

With a small flick of his wrist, his Hidden Blade sprung forth and with his quick reflexes, his Hidden Blade made contact with the man's knife and a second later, the very same knife flew meters from the man. It was then the man found himself spun around with his arm twisted on his back and his face inches from the Assassin's Hidden Blade.

"If you want to live, you're going to tell me where these Digimon Fights are being held."

The man was visibly shaken and he could see that the man was now relieving himself from fear as a dark stain appeared in the man's pants. The man started to shake but he hoped the man would give him an answer before fainting.

"By the West Docks!"

"Grazie" He slipped into his native tongue before shoving the man down to the street below. He hoped it would set an example of anyone else brave or indeed stupid enough to attack him.

In his younger days he would have wore his iconic Assassin's uniform, it had made him look all the more imposing and the safety of his armour but as he was an old gentleman now, a simple white shirt and black pants with a jacket coat made him look more refined - it was a wonder why no one had attacked him until now, after all his appearance gave off the image of wealth. Of course his Hidden Blade bracer had been wore on both his arms and his coat hid the fact from on lookers.

It had seem the little show he put on with the man was enough to put anyone else from attacking as in the little time it took for him to find the docks, he could no longer sense anyone trying to tail him. And again using the same sharp sense, he began looking for what should be an entrance to the Digimon Fights, as the man had only told him of the general location and not how to find it. It was soon obvious that the Digimon Fights were quite a spectacle as he found a large group of people weighting to get into a large warehouse.

He read large letters painted onto the side of the building - Liverpool Shipping. The Liverpool's were a power family that had power within the parliament of United and it was no wonder why the Night's Watch - those who were responsible for keeping the city safety - had not come to question why there was such a large gathering of such suspicious characters outside of an warehouse. It was a safe bet the Liverpool must be the ones profiting from these underworld fights and would have simply paid off officers to turn a blind eye.

A giant of a man, skin black as night was guarding the entrance of the building - the warehouse was much too large to simply be a warehouse, it looked as though the offices of the Liverpool's business was also part of the building. He simply reached into his pockets and gave the man a few gold coins, in which the man laughed.

"Republican? We don't get much of your kind in our neck of the woods." The guard merely pocketed his coins before allowing him to walk in.

He was correct in guessing the building was much more than a simple warehouse, the insides were elaborately decorated, as if he had stepped into an elegant manor house of a noble. This was the opposite of what he had expected from the slums, the walls were flush with luxurious wallpapers hand made from the Old World and above them was a large chandler, at least three times as large as himself and covered in sparkling crystals. He spotted a staircase leading to the second floor, as three sides of the building was covered with elaborate balconies - he could see that man of the richer gentleman and their lady friends, dressed in their finest had taken to the balconies. And at the centre of the room, a large crowd was gathered - this time he could see these were the lesser fortunate members of society, as they were dressed in regs, were shouting and waving their arms in the air. Each and every one was holding a piece of paper; betting slips he could easily tell with his sharpened eyes - it was the amount of money each one of them had on their chosen fighters.

It was seconds later a man, dressed in such a way that he could tell the man was a waiter, approached him and offered him to seat him. As he was wearing more expensive cloths then those who were gathered in the centre, the waiter must have assumed he was a gentleman of money.

He was seated quickly, a empty balcony far away from the staircase - he could not help but observed the other compatriots that were attending the night's fight. In one room a large man, not as quite as large as the guard, dressed in the finest of silk coats - a disgusting purple colour - had with him a group of women or rather girls from what he could see, hanging on to him and flirting with him. A balcony further, he could she two people seated by a table - it was strange as this was the only balcony that did have a table - and it too held an overly big man, no muscular like the ones before, but fat. Sitting across from the fat man was a girl, no older than sixteen - a skill he had developed from his years of profiling people's faces - and she was elegantly dressed. There was something familiar about this girl but he was sure he had never seen her in his life, yet in the back of his mind, he had an uneasy feeling that they had indeed met before.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" A loud voice awoke him from his thoughts, "The evening festivities are about to begin! First let me introduce our champion, with a fighting record of twenty wins and zero losses. The undefeated, Xin Fu."

An man stepped forth into the circle the crowd had made. The man had a long face but it was hardened from years of experience; and by his side, his Digimon - the floor shook as it stepped forward, nearly twice the height of his Human Partner and covered in green. He recognized it as Boltmon - although the Assassin's worked in stealth, there was still times they had come to encounter Digimon and it was a good practice to know one Digimon from another.

"And our challenger, a boy from the south. Known simply as Taiki!" A boy stepped up - a weird little thing, hair wild as a lion and dressed in rags. Except, on closer watch from his eagle eyes, he could tell the boy was not wearing regs, rather these robe like cloths were made of fine silk and dyed in an imperial red - the boy too looked regal and calm. Something about this boy had himself smirking, he had already determined who was going to be champion - he could see it with one look at each fighter but it was weird that the boy himself did not present a Digimon.

"Two thousand Units on the boy." He found himself shouting. A waiter soon came for the money and he paid with the amount in Floreins that had equaled to two thousand Units. Others seated on the balconies merely laughed at him, thinking him as easy money.

"Oi boy! Where's your Digimon?" The champion asked in his malice of a voice.

"Digimon?" The boy questioned back confusedly.

People began to laugh and he had thought he would have made a bad choice in betting on the boy, but his inner feelings were telling him to stick with the bet. There was something strange about this boy.

"Don't tell me you came to a Digimon Fight without a Digimon. Ha ha ha, this will be easy money." The champion laughed then directed his Digimon, "Bolton lets get this over with."

The green Digimon stepped forward as the ground beneath him shook violently, enough so that every step could be heard from the balcony and even felt as the building itself shook.

"Oh, looks interesting!" The boy, Taiki smiled.

And at once, the boy leapt from where he stood and with a blink of an eye had punched the green Digimon square in the stomach - with no ill effects to the receiver.

"Ahahaha, is this all you have boy?" The champion collapse onto the floor in laughter.

"Tomahawk Knuckles!" The attack connected with it's target, the boy's body flew in the air for what seemed like hours before it fell to the ground limp.

People began to clap and the champions taking his bows. Those who did keep their eyes on the boy, himself and the girl he had looked onto earlier, saw the boy slowly raise from his feet.

"Haha! That was fun!" The boys voice cried out in laughter. Those who were congratulating the champion stopped at once, wide-eyed at the boy who had just survived an attack from a Mega level Digimon.

"I guess I really can't beat a Holy Beast with my bare hands. Guess I'll have to use _that_."

Immediately the boy forth an outstretched hand and a moment later it became engulfed in a bright blue flame. He recognized that flame from anywhere - it was the exact same flame the man who had killed his own Digimon used during the war, he had come to known it as Digisoul.

With a click, the boy snapped his fingers which were engulfed in the Digisoul and a sharp glass breaking sound echoed throughout the building.

"VERTO!" And at once the boy's body was covered in blinding light. Even the Assassin himself had to shield his eyes with his hands from the intense light.

"Susanoomon!" A large armoured Digimon stood where once the boy had been. No traces of the boy could been seen, as if he had disappeared in an instant. The Digimon's armour was primarily gold, his breastplate shone crimson and his leggings a sea blue, but above all else, a large golden ring floated behind his back - an angelic figure the Digimon was and Takuya himself could feel the power as it escaped the Digimon.

"Zero ARMS Orochi!" Millions of light began to shine all around them, then as if pulled by gravity, the light gathered to a single point and a magnificent sword of light became grasped by the large golden Digimon.

"Celestial Blade!" The Digimon disappeared with a blink of an eye and when Takuya next blinked, it reappeared behind the green Digimon. Mere seconds later, Boltmon yelled in agony before it collapsed onto the warehouse floor.

When it was apparent that the mysterious Digimon had won, it once again began to shine with the same light the mysterious boy had produced before. And then, the Digimon turned into particles of light before they dispersed and the mysterious boy who had before disappeared, now floated down from where the Digimon once was and met the floor as with one knee and with Takuya's sharp eyes, he could see the boy was slightly panting.

The crowd was speechless and the administrator of the match was wide mouthed - the boy once he gathered himself, looked none to happy.

"Tch. You aren't the one I'm looking for then." The boy said with a whisper but Takuya's eagle senses once again picked up something which would else have been a secret.

The boy was looking for someone, Takuya concluded - but the boy did not know who he was seeking. Takuya was confused why the boy would come to a Digimon Fight to look for someone. Then again, he had the same motives as Takuya himself, looking for those who were strong and willing to join his ancient order.

"L..lo..looks like we have a new champion!" The administrator finally announced, stumbling from his shock. The crowd was still silent, many still in disbelief of what had just happened. "Is there no one who will challenge our new champion?"

The crowd began talking amongst themselves. Takuya caught wind, many were discussing who to bet on for the next match; many thought it had been a fluke and others thought the mysterious boy had cheated - all Takuya had cared about, was that he was now a little richer from his winnings. It was a small amount he had put in and the return would help fund the Assassin's Guild.

Takuya, as like many of the patrons of the warehouse were still deep in thought or arguing amongst themselves; as they did not see who finally did step up to fight the mysterious boy. Many who had first caught sight of who was going to be fighting caught the long bee legs of the person. It was not before many screeches of whistling could be heard, did Master Assassin Takuya reached over his balcony to gather a better view.

It was the girl who he had spotted earlier - the same girl who he had thought looked familiar but could not place a name on her. This was unusual, as Takuya had never caught sight of two interesting people in one day.

The girl was indeed in an expensive dress, but unlike the many dresses the higher class ladies in attendance were sporting - and even some of the escort girls - the girl's skirt was short, very short; only reaching an inch above her knees. It was something his fellow Assassins would ware, as the female members had opted for the mobility and flexibility it provided them for their missions. And unless this girl had been one of his assassins, Takuya wondered why she would ware such a thing - was the girl preparing for a quick get away if things went bad with the old man she had been with?

"And who might you be?" The administrator had asked.

"Nene de Delemont. Princess of Schweiz and Duchess of Basse Normandie!"


End file.
